Medicaid Payments and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Alzheimer Disease Special Care Units

Are more generous Medicaid payments associated with a decrease in racial and ethnic disparities in the availability of Alzheimer disease special care units in nursing homes?In this cohort study of 13 229 nursing homes, those with higher proportions of Black or Hispanic residents were less likely to have Alzheimer disease special care units. The disparities among nursing homes serving high proportions of Black residents, however, narrowed and even disappeared in states with higher Medicaid payment-to-cost ratios.This study suggests that more generous Medicaid payments may be associated with improved availability of specialized dementia care in nursing homes that serve primarily marginalized Black residents.

Corresponding Author: Huiwen Xu, PhD, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, 57 Executive Park, Ste 190, Atlanta, GA 30329 (huiwen.xu@emory.edu).

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