What Parents Say About Access to Care
and How it Affects Decisions Regarding
Enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP
Presented to: Academy Health ’04
San Diego, CA
Presented by: Ian Hill, MPA, MSW
Holly Stockdale, MPP, MPH
The Urban Institute
With
Marilynn Evert
Kathleen Gifford
Health Management Associates, Inc.
6 June 2004
Research supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Background/Purpose
 Number of children without health insurance has
declined in recent years, yet many eligible kids remain
uninsured
 Covering Kids and Families (CKF) initiative funded by Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation to support outreach and enrollment
efforts
 CKF Evalulation designed to assess contribution to coverage
 Through focus group component, we set out to examine
how parents’ experiences with access affect their
decisions to enroll their children in coverage
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Study Design
 13 groups in 5 cities—Boston, Denver, Los Angeles,
Mena, San Antonio
 Cities selected to represent both “good” and “bad”
access environments and geographic diversity; 1
rural site included
 Two types of groups: parents of kids enrolled in
Medicaid/SCHIP; parents of uninsured kids (138
parents, total)
 3 Spanish-speaking groups in Denver and LA
 Participants recruited with help of CKF grantees
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Issues Explored
 Access to care
 Out-of-pocket costs
 Satisfaction with care
 Past experiences: insured, uninsured, privately
insured
 How/what parents heard about Medicaid and SCHIP
 Experiences with Medicaid/SCHIP enrollment and
renewal
 Values regarding health insurance
 How access experiences affect enrollment decisions
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Access to Primary Care
 Medicaid and SCHIP
Access to primary care described as “good”
“There are lots of doctors on the list I get from
MassHealth” (Boston)
“I found my doctor through the Healthy Families
directory (LA)
Though some faced geographic barriers
“I do find it difficult to get to the provider because of
transportation.” (LA)
 Parents in Boston & Mena used private physicians,
while those in Denver, LA, and San Antonio relied
on public clinics
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Access to Primary Care (cont.)
Uninsured
Experiences also quite good, but some parents
experienced long waits & discontinuity of care,
especially in public clinics
“My doctor continued to see my child until I got her
insurance.” (Boston)
“My local doctors are very good about seeing us…we have a
relationship.” (Mena)
“It makes a big difference where you go. (At the clinic) you sit
and wait all day.” (San Antonio)
“You don’t feel at ease because it’s always a different doctor…
Each time you go to the clinic, it’s like starting over again.”
(LA)
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Dental and Specialty Care
 For parents of insured and uninsured children, dental and
specialty care were more difficult to access
 For dental, problems with availability, accepting Medicaid
“It is difficult to find a dentist who accepts MassHealth, and
usually we have to pay out of pocket.” (Boston)
“I’m going to Tijuana right now for a dentist. I’m paying out
of pocket, but it is cheaper there.” (LA)
 For specialty, difficulty navigating systems, long travel
distances, long waits
“If you need anything other than a regular doctor, you have
to go to Little Rock or Fort Smith.” (Mena)
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Health Care Costs and Cost Sharing
 Dramatic differences between insured and uninsured
 Medicaid and SCHIP:
 Cost sharing considered very affordable
“Copays…are fine; the $5 doesn’t make me think twice
about seeking care.” (Boston)
“It’s actually nice…makes you feel…like you’re doing
your part.” (Mena)
 Uninsured:
 Parents frequently delayed care due to inability to pay
“You don’t take them unless you have to…unless it’s
an emergency.” (Denver)
“ It makes me feel horrible to know that my daughter
has a 105 degree fever and all I can do is cool her
down with rags.” (Denver)
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Satisfaction with Care
 Satisfaction levels generally very high, especially
among parents with kids on Medicaid and SCHIP:
“There’s nothing better than MassHealth.” (Boston)
“We’re very satisfied. The pediatricians are thorough and
we relate very well to them.” (San Antonio)
 Uninsured parents more likely to express
dissatisfaction with long waits, rude service, lack of
personal attention
“They don’t even want to talk to you! It’s one bad
experience after another….” (Los Angeles)
 However, Boston and Mena uninsured reported good
experiences which could be attributed to “strong
personal relationships” with physicians
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Special Access Issues for Spanish-Speaking
Families
 Generally, Spanish-speaking parents had similar
experiences as English-speaking parents
 However, additional issues related to language barriers
and discrimination were common
“I could not get an appointment because they claimed
nobody in the office could speak Spanish. But I think they
could… (Denver).”
“I fought to get a worker who understands me because I
don’t know what he is telling me and he does not know
what I am telling him.” (Los Angeles)
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How/What Parents Heard about
Medicaid/SCHIP
 HOW: friends, DSS caseworkers, social service agencies,
hospitals, FQHCs, schools, TV & radio
 WHAT: mostly negative
“I heard you have to give them information on your life
history every 6 months (Denver).”
“I was hesitant to apply because I heard they investigated
income (Los Angeles).”
“We thought ARKids was a scam, at first.” (Mena)
 Exception: Boston, where parents heard such positive things
as “they pay for everything” and “it’s accepted everywhere”
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Enrollment Experiences
 SCHIP application process described as easier than Medicaid
“Healthy Families keeps it simple. They only want to know
your kids information (Los Angeles).”
“It was so easy I don’t remember it.” (Mena)
 Frustrations with Medicaid application included: too many
personal questions, long waits for processing, and feeling that
the process is “complicated” and “degrading”
“The social services department was not very helpful
or sympathetic to my case.” (Denver)
“It’s humiliating to have to go to DPSS.” (Los Angeles)
“Case workers are overloaded and we don’t get our
cards on time…” (Denver)
“It’s a long wait, and a lot of paperwork that you fill out
over and over…” (San Antonio)
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Renewal Experiences
 Most parents with insured children said renewal was
easy
“It was easy…all the information was already
there.” (Los Angeles)
“It’s so easy, you might forget to do it.” (Mena)
“Most of the paperwork can be handled by mail
or fax.” (San Antonio)
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Special Enrollment Issues for SpanishSpeaking Parents
 Spanish-speaking parents described similar
experiences as English-speakers, but also raised
serious issues re language and discrimination
“I did not call the number on the TV because I was afraid there
would be no one to answer my questions in Spanish.” (Denver)
“I had a problem when I tried to apply for Medicaid. The social
workers did not cooperate with me…they would make
excuses.” (Los Angeles)
 Additional issues surfaced related to “public charge”
“They say that if you get help from the government, you will
always have a mark saying that you asked for help. So I have
not applied.” (Los Angeles)
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What Parents Value About Health Insurance
Unanimously parents valued health insurance
“It provides you with peace of mind, knowing that you can
care for your kids if they get sick.” (Boston)
“It takes the stress away.” (Denver)
“Insurance gives me the wherewithal to keep my child
healthy, to keep up with his shot and visits.” (Denver)
“It takes cost out of the picture, and allows me to get care
that I can afford.” (Mena)
“It allows me to go to any hospital, or any doctor, and get
better customer service.” (San Antonio)
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How Access Experiences Affect Enrollment
Decisions
 No matter how difficult families found
application/renewal, and no matter what problems were
encountered accessing care, virtually all parents said
they would continue to seek coverage
“It is absolutely worth the effort.” (San Antonio)
“You go through one day of burden for the good of your kids.”
(San Antonio)
“You’ve got to do it. You’re desperate without health
insurance.” (Los Angeles)
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Conclusions
Many positive findings:
•
•
•
•
Kids in Medicaid/SCHIP enjoy good access to care
Uninsured kids also mostly able to obtain care
Great value placed on health insurance
Parents unanimous in believing health insurance was
“worth it” regardless of hassles with applications, or
problems with access
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Conclusions (cont.)
Clearly, though, issues remain to be addressed
• Dental and specialty care more problematic to access, for both
insured and uninsured groups
• Out-of-pocket costs for uninsured pose serious barrier to use
• Medicaid application process still overly complex/frustrating
• Spanish-speaking families confront numerous additional
barriers, in both language and perceived discrimination
Next Steps: Recognizing limitations of focus
groups, CKF evaluation will assess the
impacts of access on enrollment
quantitatively
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