Racial and Ethnic Differences in Antiseizure Medications Among People With Epilepsy on Medicaid
A Case of Potential Inequities
Citation Manager Formats
Make Comment
See Comments

Article Information
- Received May 16, 2022
- Accepted October 3, 2022
- First Published January 11, 2023.
Author Disclosures
- Wyatt P. Bensken, PhD,
- Guadalupe Fernandez Baca Vaca, MD,
- Philip M. Alberti, PhD,
- Omar I. Khan, MD,
- Timothy H. Ciesielski, ScD, MD, MPH,
- Barbara C. Jobst, MD, PhD,
- Scott M. Williams, PhD,
- Kurt C. Stange, MD, PhD,
- Martha Sajatovic, MD and
- Siran M. Koroukian, PhD
- Wyatt P. Bensken, PhD,
None
NONE
None
(1) Neurology, Editorial Board Member, 2022
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
(1) OCHIN, Inc, Dr. Bensken is employed as a Health Disparities Investigator at OCHIN, Inc (a health equity-focused 501(c)(3))
NONE
NONE
(1) NIH / National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, 1F31MD015681, PI, 2021-2022
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Guadalupe Fernandez Baca Vaca, MD,
None
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Philip M. Alberti, PhD,
None
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Omar I. Khan, MD,
None
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
Contributing Editor PracticeUpdate Elsevier
NONE
NONE
NINDS, NIH. Employee.
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Timothy H. Ciesielski, ScD, MD, MPH,
None
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
My funding over the past 2 years has come through Darcy Freedman and Scott Williams (these were not my grants).The National Dairy Council-FFAR (Dairy Management Inc.)
My funding over the past 2 years has come through Darcy Freedman and Scott Williams (these were not my grants).NIHOhio Bureau of Workers Compensation USDA (Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program)NOPREN/SNAP-Ed (The Ohio State University)
My funding over the past 2 years has come through Darcy Freedman and Scott Williams.Case Western Reserve UniversityThe Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health
My funding over the past 2 years has come through Darcy Freedman and Scott Williams (these were not my grants).Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research Produce Perks MidwestMichael and Susan Dell Foundation
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Barbara C. Jobst, MD, PhD,
None
NONE
None
Associate Editor for Neurology
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
U48 DP006377-01M001Jobst, Escoffery (multiple PI)10/2019-09/2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionHome based self-management and cognitive training changes lives (HOBSCOTCH). This is a replication trial at DH and Emory University to study diverse population and disseminate a self-management program (HOBSCOTCH) developed at DH for cognition in patients in epilepsy. Role: PI and PI of MEW network 2019-2022NIH U01 NS108929-01 (subaward 38854/00)Jobst (PI)06/2019-05/2024NIH UG3NS112826 (subaward)Jobst (PI)09/2019 – 08/2024NINDS (Yale university prime: Blumenfeld PI)Thalamic stimulation to prevent impaired consciousness in epilepsyThe goals of this project are to complete necessary applications and protocols to initiate a study using deep brain stimulation of the thalamic intralaminar central lateral nuclei to improve outcomes for patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.Role: Site PI
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Scott M. Williams, PhD,
None
NONE
None
PLOS Genetics, Section Editor, 2011-present
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NIH, R01 AI148469, MPI, 2020-presentNIH, AG058654, coI, 2021-presentNIH, R56 AG072547, MPI, 2021-presentNIH, R13 HG011415-01, PI< 2021-presentNIH, R01LM010098, MPI, 2013-presnetMarch of Dimes, coI, 2014-present
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Kurt C. Stange, MD, PhD,
None
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
I am funded by multiple research grants:*Title: Wisdom of Practice InitiativeMajor Goals: To bring to light the mechanisms by which person-focused practice makes a difference in the lives of individuals, families, communities and populations, how contextual factors affect these relationships, and how a new generation sees their place in the future of person-focused health care.*Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: n/aName of PD/PI: Stange, Kurt*Source of Support: University Suburban Health Center Foundation*Primary Place of Performance: Case Western Reserve UniversityProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 04/2021 – 03/2026 * Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $2,000,000* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 2021 1.82 calendar2. 2022 3.12 calendar3. 20233.12 calendar4. 20243.12 calendar5. 20253.12 calendar*Title: Health Improvement Partnership- Cuyahoga (HIP-Cuyahoga): Supporting Communities in Achieving Equity and Better HealthMajor Goals: To reduce racial disparities in chronic disease by rapidly implementing pragmatic approaches to nutrition, physical activity, and community-clinical linkages in the African American population within Cuyahoga County. *Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: NU58DP006586Name of PD/PI: Halko, Martha*Source of Support: CDC*Primary Place of Performance: Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Cleveland, OhioProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 09/2018-09/2023* Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $3,960,000 / $210,310 (sub-award)* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 2019 0.54 calendar 2. 20200.54 calendar3. 20210.54 calendar4. 20220.54 calendar5. 20230.54 calendar*Title: Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Support GrantMajor Goals: 1) Improve prevention, diagnosis, and therapy of cancer through research; 2) Stimulate and support innovative, coordinated, interdisciplinary research on cancer diagnosis, treatment, and control; 3) Develop clinical applications of research discoveries and make them available as quickly as possible; 4) Develop cancer prevention and control activities to help reduce cancer morbidity and mortality.*Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: P30 CA043703Name of PD/PI: Gerson, Stan*Source of Support: NIH/NCI*Primary Place of Performance: Case Western Reserve UniversityProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 04/2018-03/2023* Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $3,088,653 / $618,290 (Multimethod Cancer Outcomes Shared Resource)* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 2018 0.54 calendar2. 2019 0.54 calendar3. 20200.54 calendar4. 20210.54 calendar5. 20220.54 calendar*Title: Clinical Translational Science Award Major Goals: This award provides infrastructure to support translational science and clinical trials at Case Western Reserve University.*Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: U54 TR001960Name of PD/PI: Konstan, Michael*Source of Support: NIH/NCATS0*Primary Place of Performance: Case Western Reserve UniversityProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 04/2018-03/2023 * Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $8,261,333* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 20181.02 calendar2. 2019 1.02 calendar3. 20201.02 calendar4. 20211.02 calendar5. 20221.02 calendar*Title: Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials NetworkMajor Goals: Foster a culture of rigorous scientific comparisons and promote evaluation of newer surgical techniques, devices, and innovative pharmaceutical and bioengineered products to improve adult cardiovascular disease outcomes. *Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: U01 HL088942Name of PD/PI: Blackstone, Eugene *Source of Support: NHLBI/NINDS/NIH/CIHR*Primary Place of Performance: Cleveland Clinic Foundation (one of 10 core clinical centers) Project/Proposal Start and End Date: 03/2019-03/2026 * Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $44,956 (sub-award)* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 20190.25 calendar2. 2020 0.25 calendar3. 20210.25 calendar4. 20220.25 calendar5. 20230.25 calendar6. 20240.25 calendar7. 20250.25 calendar*Title: Tailoring Inventions to Improve Preventive Health Service Use Major Goals: To implement and evaluate a multilevel intervention to increase Medicare recipients’ annual well visit use, improve utilization of evidence-based preventive health services, and reduce use of services not supported by scientific evidence.*Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: RFA-AG-20-045Name of PD/PI: Tarn, Derjung M.*Source of Support: NIH/NIA*Primary Place of Performance: University of California, Los AngelesProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 07/2020-06/2025* Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $101,534 (sub-award)* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 20210.6 calendar2. 20220.6 calendar3. 20230.6 calendar4. 20240.6 calendar5. 20250.6 calendar*Title: Testing the Effectiveness of Individualized Disease Prevention for Middle-Aged AdultsMajor Goals: Help middle-aged adults make informed decisions about health care services that are most likely to promote a longer, healthier life. *Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: R01 AG059979Name of PD/PI: Taksler, Glen*Source of Support: NIH/NIA*Primary Place of Performance: Cleveland Clinic FoundationProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 04/2019-03/2024* Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $497,878 / $31,730 (sub-award)* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 2019 N/A: Participation began in 20212. 2020 N/A3. 20211.2 calendar4. 20221.2 calendar5. 20231.2 calendar*Title: Involving Communities in Delivering and Disseminating Health Disparity InterventionsMajor Goals: To evaluate the effect of training and including community members as peer reviewers of scientific articles in two major general medical journals.*Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: U54 MD002265Name of PD/PI: Sehgal, Ashwini*Source of Support: NIMHD*Primary Place of Performance: MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OhioProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 09/2017-08/2022* Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $4,408,127 / $126,084 (sub-award)* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period. Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 2018 0.9 calendar2. 2019 0.9 calendar3. 20200.9 calendar4. 20210.9 calendar5. 20220.9 calendar*Title: Achieving Outstanding Cardiovascular Health Outcomes for All Ohioans: a Statewide Cardiovascular Health Collaborative (Cardio-OH)Major Goals: To implement and evaluate a statewide cardiovascular health collaborative*Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: 1U18HS027944-01Name of PD/PI: Bolen, Shari*Source of Support: Agency for Health Care Research & Quality*Primary Place of Performance: Case Western Reserve UniversityProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 01/2021 – 12/2023* Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $3,304,253 / $38,474 (sub-award)* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 2021 0.60 calendar2. 2022 0.60 calendar3. 20230.60 calendar*Title: Novel, High-Impact Studies Evaluating Health System and Healthcare Professional Responsiveness to COVID-19Major Goals: To examine the rapid adoption of digital health by primary care and the positive/ negative consequences of digital health on access to care across settings, patient and clinician care delivery experiences, and the interaction of digital health with relationships between primary care patients and primary care teams.*Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: R01HS28253Name of PD/PI: Etz, Rebecca*Source of Support: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality*Primary Place of Performance: Virginia Commonwealth UniversityProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 11/2020-11/2022* Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $730,236 / $73,848 (sub-award)* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 20210.8 calendar2. 2022 1.2 calendar*Title: Service AgreementMajor Goals: To develop research in areas of mutual interest and shared mission and to provide mentorship and research guidance*Status of Support: ActiveProject Number: n/aName of PD/PI: Stange*Source of Support: OCHIN, Inc.*Primary Place of Performance: OCHIN, Inc.Project/Proposal Start and End Date: 11/2019-12/2024* Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $388,046* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 2020 2.4 calendar2. 2021 2.4 calendar3. 20222.4 calendar4. 20232.4 calendar5. 20242.4 calendarPENDING*Title: Long-Term Effects of COVID-19-induced Health Care Delivery Changes on Patient & Workforce Processes & Outcomes in Safety Net Practices Caring for Health Disparity Populations Major Goals: Collaborative study to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the community health center primary care workforce and on equity and quality of care*Status of Support: PendingProject Number: R01 MD016389-01Name of PD/PI: Stange, Kurt and Puro, Jon, Co-PIs*Source of Support: NIMHD*Primary Place of Performance: Case Western Reserve UniversityProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 3/2022-2/2027* Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $2,989,832* Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period.Year (YYYY)Person Months (##.##)1. 2022 2.4 calendar2. 2023 2.4 calendar3. 20242.4 calendar4. 20252.4 calendar5. 20262.4 calendarCOMPLETED*Title: Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care for Comorbid Behavioral and Medical Problems Major Goals: Investigate whether increased integration of evidence-supported behavioral health and primary care services, compared to simple co-location of providers, improves outcomes*Status of Support: CompletedProject Number: WLPS-1409-24372Name of PD/PI: Littenberg, Benjamin*Source of Support: PCORI*Primary Place of Performance: University of VermontProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 04/2016-03/2021*Title: Diabetes Quality Improvement Project Major Goals: To achieve equitable health outcomes for people living with poorly controlled diabetes across Ohio by improving the diabetes system of care. *Status of Support: CompletedProject Number: ODM202017Name of PD/PI: Konstan, Michael*Source of Support: Ohio Department of Medicaid*Primary Place of Performance: Case Western Reserve UniversityProject/Proposal Start and End Date: 07/2019-06/2021 
See grant disclosures above.
NONE
None
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Martha Sajatovic, MD and
None
NONE
None
Editorial Board of:BJPsychOpenBipolar Disorders
NONE
Text book/educational text Royalties: Springer Press, Johns Hopkins University Press, Oxford Press, UpToDate
NONE
Consultant: Alkermes, Otsuka, Sunovion, Janssen, Lundbeck, Teva, Clinical Education Alliance, Health Analytics
NONE
NONE
NONE
Research grants: Otsuka
National Institute of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
NONE
International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD)
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Siran M. Koroukian, PhD
None
NONE
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) -- Registration and travel expenses as an invited speaker
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
I am on a NIH study section, and recently reviewed a grant applications for UK Research Institute.
NONE
NONE
This study was support by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 3 U48 DP005030-05S1 In the past 36 months, Dr. Koroukian was supported by grants from the: National Cancer Institute, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (P30 CA043703); The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U48 DP005030-05S1 and U48 DP006404-03S7; National Institutes of Health (R15 NR017792, and UH3- DE025487, R01 AG074946-01) American Cancer Society ( 132678-RSGI-19-213-01-CPHPS and RWIA-20-111-02 RWIA); and by contracts from Cleveland Clinic Foundation, including a subcontract from Celgene Corporation. The contents of this study are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the CDC.
NONE
American Cancer Society ( 132678-RSGI-19-213-01-CPHPS and RWIA-20-111-02 RWIA)
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
- Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences (WPB, THC, SMW, KCS, MS), School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (GFBV), University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH; AAMC Center for Health Justice (PMA), Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC; Epilepsy Center of Excellence (OIK), Baltimore VA Medical Center, US Department of Veterans Affairs, MD; Department of Neurology and Geisel School of Medicine (BCJ), Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH; Center for Community Health Integration (KCS, MS), Department of Sociology, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland; and Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry (SMK), University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, OH.
- Correspondence
Dr. Bensken wpb27{at}case.edu
Article usage
The Nerve!: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Hastening the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Dr. Brian Callaghan and Dr. Kellen Quigg
► Watch
Related Articles
- No related articles found.