Evaluating the Effects of Inpatient Only (IPO) Policy Changes on Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: Access and Outcomes Across Payer Groups.

Outpatient anterior cervical discectomy and fusion utilization increased over time but remained lowest among Medicaid patients.

Across all payer groups, inpatient surgery was associated with worse outcomes and the magnitude of this difference was greatest in Medicaid patients.

A similar pattern was observed for 90-day readmissions, with the largest increase in Medicaid patients (OR 1.49) and cost (-$5,973).