Changes in Medicaid responsiblefor the rise in school-age children have been diagnosed with ADHD and asthma?

In the U.S., nearly 11% of school-age children have been diagnosed with ADHD, and approximately 10% of children suffer from asthma. In the last decade, the number of children diagnosed with these conditions has inexplicably been on the rise.

This paper proposes a novel explanation of this trend. First, the increase is concentrated in the Medicaid caseload nationwide. Second, nearly 80% of states transitioned their Medicaid programs from fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement to managed care (MMC) by 2016.

Using Medicaid claims from South Carolina, the study shows that this change contributed to the increase in asthma and ADHD caseloads. The transition from FFS to MMC explains most of the rise in the number of Medicaid children being treated for ADHD and asthma.