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PCPs accept more new patients insured by Medicare
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Physicians appear to accept more new patients who are insured by Medicare or private insurance compared with Medicaid, according to a report by the CDC.
Researchers evaluated data from the 2013 National Electronic Health Records Survey to evaluate physicians’ acceptance of new patients with Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance, and how they differ between states and physicians.
Results demonstrated that 95.3% of office-based physicians were accepting new patients in 2013. Of these, Medicaid was by-far the least accepted (68.9%) insurance, with private insurance being the most accepted (84.7%), followed by Medicare (83.7%).
Physicians within metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) were much more likely to accept new patients with private insurance (84.6%) compared with patients insured by Medicaid (67.2%). Medicare acceptance was also lower within MSAs (82.9%) compared with outside (91.2%).
Compared with national averages (84.7%), physicians in the District of Columbia had a significantly lower acceptance rate of new privately insured patients (67.1%), with Illinois having a significantly higher rate (95.1%).
Acceptance of Medicare patients varied from 75.5% in Hawaii to 95.2% in North Dakota, with the national acceptance average at 83.7%.
Medicare acceptance was significantly higher than the national average of 68.9% in 25 states.
“One provision of the Affordable Care Act called for Medicaid payment rates for some primary care services provided by PCPs to equal Medicare rates with full federal financing in 2013 and 2014. However, many states experienced delays in implementing payment increases… Data from 2014 will be needed to determine if physician acceptance of new Medicaid patients increased,” researchers wrote. – by Casey Hower
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Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.