Rehospitalization during the first year of life by insurance status.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association of insurance status on infant rehospitalization in a population-based setting.

METHODS

In this longitudinal retrospective study, hospitalizations were tracked for 1 year after birth discharge for 203 031 infants born in hospitals during 2008 using data from the New York State Inpatient Database. Relative risk was estimated using multivariable negative binomial regression models.

RESULTS

Rehospitalization occurred in 9010 infants (4.4%). Medicaid coverage and being uninsured were strong predictors of rehospitalizations after adjustment for birth weight and other factors. Medicaid also bears a disproportionate share of the economic burden. Normal birth weight infants have the lowest risk, but comprise the majority of costs. Jaundice and acute bronchiolitis were the leading causes of rehospitalization within 30 days and 1 year, respectively.

DISCUSSION: Future research can explore the preventability of rehospitalizations, and evaluate novel strategies for discharge and postnatal care coordination especially for uninsured and Medicaid-enrolled infants.