Well-baby care in Connecticut's Medicaid managed-care program.

Objectives: 1) To describe well-baby care in Connecticut's Medicaid managed-care program; 2) to determine the effect of well-baby care on emergency care or hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Babies born between January 1 and March 31, 2000 who were continuously enrolled for the first year of life were identified (n = 2,054). Encounter data were searched for timely well-baby visits and for emergency care or hospitalization for selected conditions.

Results: Thirty-four percent of infants received five or more timely visits during the first year of life. African American and Hispanic babies were less likely than white babies to have had all the recommended care (OR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.63; OR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.69; respectively). Being up-to-date with well-baby care was not associated with a reduced likelihood of emergency care (OR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.72, 1.09) or hospitalization (OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 0.83, 1.34).

Conclusion: Most babies did not get timely care. Well-baby care was not associated with reduced use of emergency care or hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions.