Use of a diagnosis-based risk adjustment model to estimate costs of indigent care in a community at Medicaid reimbursement rates.

Objectives: This study used a diagnosis-based risk adjustment model to estimate the annual costs of uninsured patients in Austin, Texas, and describe the prevalence and costs of their chronic conditions. The data were supplied by the Indigent Care Collaboration, a partnership of local safety-net hospitals and clinics.

Methods: This study used the Diagnostic Cost Groups prospective Medicaid All-Encounters model, which uses diagnoses, age and gender to assign relative risk scores to patients.