Insurance Coverage & Costs
Access to Care
Uninsured and Low-Income
Racial/Ethnic Disparities
Safety Net Providers
Community Health Centers
Hospitals
Physicians
Insured People
Quality & Care Delivery
Health Care Markets
Issue Briefs
Data Bulletins
Research Briefs
Policy Analyses
Community Reports
Journal Articles
Other Publications
Surveys
Site Visits
Design and Methods
Data Files
The Effects of Medicaid Reimbursement on the Access to Care of Medicaid Enrollees: A Community Perspective
December 2005
Medical Care Research and Review, Vol. 62, No. 6
Peter J. Cunningham, Len M. Nichols
Previous research has not found a strong association between Medicaid reimbursement levels and enrollees’ access to medical care, even though higher fees increase the acceptance of Medicaid patients by physicians. This study shows that high Medicaid acceptance rates by physicians in a community are more important than fee levels per se in affecting enrollees’ access to medical care. Although high fee levels increase the probability that individual physicians will accept Medicaid patients, high fee levels do not necessarily lead to high levels of physician Medicaid acceptance in an area. Numerous other physician practice, health system, and community characteristics also affect Medicaid acceptance. The effects of Medicaid fees on Medicaid acceptance are substantially lower in areas with high Medicaid managed care penetration and for physicians who practice in institutional settings. The results suggest that a broad range of factors need to be considered to increase access to physicians for Medicaid enrollees.
For a full copy of this article please visit the Medical
Care Research and Review Web site. (Subscription required.)
