Journal Article Appointment Availability after Increases in Medicaid Payments for Primary Care
Daniel Polsky, Michael Richards, Simon Basseyn, Doug Wissoker, Genevieve M. Kenney, Stephen Zuckerman
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This study examines the effect of increased Medicaid reimbursements for primary care services in 2013 and 2014, a key provision of Affordable Care Act, on access to primary care. The researchers measured the availability of and waiting times for appointments for Medicaid enrollees and privately insured individuals in 10 states during two periods: from November 2012 through March 2013 and from May 2014 through July 2014. Between the two time periods, the availability of primary care appointments for Medicaid beneficiaries increased from 58.7 percent to 66.4 percent, while no changes were observed for the privately insured. During the same periods, waiting times to a scheduled new-patient appointment remained stable. These results suggest that increased Medicaid reimbursement to primary care providers was associated with improved appointment availability for Medicaid enrollees without generating longer waiting times.
Research Areas Health and health care
Tags Health insurance Federal health care reform Health care delivery and payment Health equity Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program 
Policy Centers Health Policy Center