Posted on August 29, 2011 15:02
Categories: Medicaid | Special Populations | Treatment and Recovery
Topics: Access/Barriers | CHIP | Medicaid | Mental Health | Treatment
On June 30, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report examining children’s access to health coverage under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The GAO studied physicians’ willingness to care for children enrolled in the programs and physicians’ willingness to accept new children insured through them. The authors also examined the difficulty physicians face in referring children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP to specialty care. The report found that 83 percent of primary care physicians and 71 percent of specialty physicians serve children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. Among physicians participating in the government programs, the authors found that 79 percent are accepting new privately insured children while only 47 percent are accepting children enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP. The report also found that non-participating physicians most commonly cite administrative issues as barriers to participation, including low and delayed reimbursements. The GAO concluded that physicians face significant difficulty in referring Medicaid and CHIP-enrolled children to specialty care, including mental health.
From the report:
Most physicians are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP and serving children covered by these programs. On the basis of its 2010 national survey of physicians, GAO estimates that more than three-quarters of primary and specialty care physicians are enrolled as Medicaid and CHIP providers and serving children in those programs. A larger share of primary care physicians (83 percent) are participating in the programs—enrolled as a provider and serving Medicaid and CHIP children—than specialty physicians (71 percent). Further, a larger share of rural primary care physicians (94 percent) are participating in the programs than urban primary care physicians (81 percent). Nationwide, physicians participating in Medicaid and CHIP are generally more willing to accept privately insured children as new patients than Medicaid and CHIP children.
Full report: Most Physicians Serve Covered Children but Have Difficulty Referring Them for Specialty Care (PDF | 1.41 MB) 
Government Accountability Office. (2011). Most physicians serve covered children but have difficulty referring them for specialty care.
E-mail to Friend |
Print |
Permalink |
Post RSS
