Chondral Injuries and Irreparable Meniscal Tears Among Adolescents With Anterior Cruciate Ligament or Meniscal Tears Are More Common in Patients With Public Insurance

Background:Access to health care services is a critical component of health care reform and may differ among patients with different types of insurance.Hypothesis/Purpose:The purpose was to compare adolescents with private and public insurance undergoing surgery for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and/or meniscal tears. We hypothesized that patients with public insurance would have a delayed presentation from the time of injury and therefore would have a higher incidence of chondral injuries and irreparable meniscal tears and lower preoperative International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores than patients with private insurance.Study Design:Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:This was a retrospective study of patients under 21 years of age undergoing ACL reconstruction and/or meniscal repair or debridement from January 2013 to March 2016 at a single pediatric sports medicine center. Patients were identified by a search of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. A chart review...