Table 4.
Multivariate Linear Model Estimate of PC Visit Effect on Total Patient Care Cost (PC visits as a discrete variable).
| Variables | Parameter estimate | 95% confidence interval | P > |t| | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower bound | Upper bound | |||
| Intercept | −20 112.0 | −20 213.0 | −20 011.0 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 1 (# patients: 7 146 586) | −3976.1 | −4002.7 | −3949.5 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 2 (# patients: 5 258 878) | −5124.8 | −5152.5 | −5097.0 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 3 (# patients: 3 029 363) | −6020.8 | −6051.3 | −5990.3 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 4 (# patients: 1 667 632) | −6777.6 | −6812.7 | −6742.5 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 5 (# patients: 911 810) | −7431.7 | −7473.8 | −7389.6 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 6 (# patients: 509 521) | −8064.4 | −8116.4 | −8012.5 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 7 (# patients: 290 515) | −8622.6 | −8687.9 | −8557.4 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 8 (# patients: 171 693) | −9130.5 | −9212.6 | −9048.4 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 9 (# patients: 105 242) | −9614.1 | −9716.8 | −9511.3 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 10 (# patients: 67 480) | −9882.8 | −10 009.5 | −9756.1 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 11 (# patients: 45 235) | −9837.6 | −9991.0 | −9684.1 | <.0001 |
| In-person visit 12 (# patients: 34 151) | −9113.5 | −9289.3 | −8937.7 | <.0001 |
| In-person visits >12 (# patients: 112 902) | −7671.2 | −7770.8 | −7571.6 | <.0001 |
| Number of visits (tele-health) | −314.8 | −329.9 | −299.7 | <.0001 |
| Number of visits (phone) | −50.5 | −53.8 | −47.1 | <.0001 |
| Age | −59.5 | −61.3 | −57.6 | <.0001 |
| Age ≥ 35 and <45 | 577.0 | 537.8 | 616.3 | <.0001 |
| Age ≥ 45 and <55 | 1392.6 | 1342.8 | 1442.3 | <.0001 |
| Age ≥ 55 and < 65 | 1954.4 | 1890.3 | 2018.4 | <.0001 |
| Age ≥ 65 and <75 | 2485.5 | 2406.1 | 2565.0 | <.0001 |
| Age ≥ 75 | 3483.0 | 3380.0 | 3585.9 | <.0001 |
| Gender (female) | −503.1 | −529.5 | −476.7 | <.0001 |
| Marital status (married) | −663.2 | −678.1 | −648.4 | <.0001 |
| Racial status (White) | −408.2 | −428.8 | −387.7 | <.0001 |
| Racial status (Black) | −688.0 | −714.7 | −661.3 | <.0001 |
| Enrolled in Medicare | 190.3 | 168.9 | 211.6 | <.0001 |
| Enrolled in Medicaid | 239.0 | 173.9 | 304.1 | <.0001 |
| Covered by private insurance | −1474.4 | −1497.4 | −1451.4 | <.0001 |
| Disability rating (%) | −8.5 | −9.0 | −8.1 | <.0001 |
| Disability rating 70%+ (% of patients) | 88.7 | 54.9 | 122.5 | <.0001 |
| Drive time to closest VHA PCP (min) | −3.8 | −4.2 | −3.3 | <.0001 |
| CPM risk score | 392.9 | 392.7 | 393.1 | <.0001 |
| FY 2017 | 77.9 | 58.0 | 97.8 | <.0001 |
| FY 2018 | 688.4 | 668.5 | 708.2 | <.0001 |
| FY 2019 | 1212.5 | 1192.5 | 1232.6 | <.0001 |
The fixed effects of the 140 hospitals are not shown here. Visit 0 (1 880 256 patients hd no PC visit), age <35, racial status (other), and FY 2016 were used as reference groups. Pooled data: FY 2016 to 2019; N = 21 231 264.