Healthcare Disparities in Orthopaedic Surgery: A Comparison of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Incidence Proportions With US Census-Derived Demographics.

Introduction: Disparities exist and affect outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between race, ethnicity, and insurance type on the incidence of ACL reconstruction in the United States.

Methods: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project database was used to determine demographics and insurance types for those undergoing elective ACL reconstruction from 2016 to 2017. The US Census Bureau was used to obtain demographic and insurance data for the general population.

Results: Non-White patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with commercial insurance were more likely to be younger, male, less burdened with comorbidities including diabetes, and less likely to smoke. When we compared Medicaid patients who had undergone ACL reconstruction with all Medicaid recipients, there was an under-representation of Black patients and a similar percentage of White patients undergoing ACL reconstruction (P < 0.001).

Discussion: This study suggests ongoing healthcare disparities with lower rates of ACL reconstruction for non-White patients and those with public insurance. Equal proportions of patients identifying as Black undergoing ACL reconstruction as compared with the underlying general population suggests a possible narrowing in disparities. More data are needed at numerous points of care between injury, surgery, and recovery to identify and address disparities.