Table 3. Changes in Annual Child Abuse and Neglect Rates in States That Expanded Medicaid Relative to States That Did Nota.
| Variable | Variable Estimate of Rate per 100 000 Children Aged <6 y for Each Study Year (95% CI)b | |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Abuse | Neglect | |
| Medicaid expansion | −57 (−213 to 99) | −422 (−753 to −91)c |
| Family policy | −101 (−661 to 459) | −1092 (−2282 to 98) |
| Unemployment rate | −62 (−125 to 1) | −85 (−219 to 49) |
| Families living below FPL | 9 (−10 to 27) | 31 (−9 to 71) |
| Teen births | 5 (−21 to 31) | −8 (−63 to 48) |
| Childcare wait list | 96 (−110 to 303) | 153 (−287 to 592) |
Abbreviation: FPL, federal poverty level.
a
The unadjusted change for physical abuse was −33 (95% CI, −186 to 119) per 100 000 children and for neglect was −427 (95% CI, −752 to −102) per 100 000 children (P < .05). The adjusted model controlled for the following state-level covariables: paid family leave policy, unemployment, teen birth rate, proportion of families living in poverty, and presence of a child care wait list.
b
Medicaid expansion indicates states with relative to those without this expansion. The analyses exclude West Virginia because its outcome data were found to be unreliable.
c
P < .05.