Pediatrics
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Have Medicaid reimbursements been a credible measure of the cost of pediatric care?
Despite uncertain validity as a measure of cost, Medicaid reimbursements may be used to compare the costs of different pediatric interventions. We explored the credibility of Medicaid reimbursements as a measure of the costs of inpatient care associated with two different approaches to follow-up care for high-risk indigent infants. ⋯ Without proper validation, reimbursements from Medicaid (or any program that replaces it) should not be assumed to provide an unbiased or acceptably accurate measure of the relative or absolute cost of pediatric health care interventions.