Publications by authors named "Debra G Bozzi"

We performed a secondary analysis of the Moving To Opportunity (MTO) social experiment to investigate the impact of different types of housing assistance and neighborhood environments on long-term patterns of health care use for specific conditions and across different types of health care services. MTO participants, who were randomized at baseline, were linked to up to 21 years of all-payer hospital discharge and Medicaid data. Among the 9,170 children at the time of randomization, those who received a voucher had subsequent hospital admissions rates that were 36% lower for asthma and 30% lower for mental health disorders compared to the control group; rates of psychiatric services, outpatient hospital services, clinic services and durable medical equipment were also lower among the voucher groups.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Racial inequities in birth outcomes in the U.S. exist, and while doula care may improve this situation, access is still limited; recent legislative actions aim to enhance access but lack a clear focus on equity.
  • A landscape analysis of state doula-related legislation from 2015-2020 revealed a significant increase in proposals, especially regarding Medicaid reimbursement, but few laws addressed comprehensive equity measures.
  • Recommendations suggest that states should incorporate racial equity assessments in evaluating new doula-related legislation to better address health disparities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the seven years since the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act made HIV-positive organ donation to HIV-positive recipients legally permissible in the United States, there have been fewer HIV-positive organ donations than expected. Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) play a key role in the transplant system and barriers at OPOs may be partly responsible for the relatively low number of HIV-positive donors. To understand potential OPO barriers, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 OPO staff members.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Research indicates that high BMI may be linked to increased health care spending, but evidence on this connection is limited.
  • The study uses genetic differences in BMI among siblings as a natural experiment to assess the financial impact of BMI on health care costs using historical data.
  • Results show that each one-unit increase in BMI corresponds to an average increase of $611.60 in insurer spending, highlighting the potential value of investments in weight loss initiatives for health policy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF