MEDI-CAL

• Reports & Initiatives
• Access to Care
• Budget
• Eligibility
• Enrollment & Retention
• Financing
• Long-Term Care
• Managed Care
• Provider Rates
• Quality of Care
• County Data
• Retention Tools
• Medi-Cal 101
• Consumer Resources

PROGRAMS

• Better Chronic Disease Care
• Innovations for the Underserved
• Market and Policy Monitor

BROWSE TOPICS

Select... Chronic Disease Care Community Clinics End of Life Care Health Care Almanac Health Care Delivery Health Care Financing Health Insurance Health IT Health Policy Health Privacy Healthy Families Hospitals Long Term Care Medi-Cal Medicare Oral Health Quality Specialty Care Telehealth Workforce Other Topics

ABOUT CHCF

• Oakland Office
• Sacramento Office

MY PROFILE

• Sign Up
• Update Profile

FOLLOW CHCF

YouTube

Facebook

Twitter

Access to Care

Access to Physicians in California's Public Insurance Programs

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

May 2004

This issue brief provides insight into the issues associated with physician access for people covered by California’s Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs. The authors summarize five studies commissioned by CHCF and the results of an extensive review of literature. Key findings include:

• Enrollment in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families improves access to physician services; however, access is worse for those whose coverage is intermittent.
• Adult beneficiaries experience more access problems than children enrolled in these public programs.
• Beneficiaries with chronic illnesses and those who require specialty care face more access problems.
• Medi-Cal beneficiaries enrolled in fee-for-service Medi-Cal may experience worse access than those enrolled in Medi-Cal managed care.
• There are large differences in access across counties for those covered by Medi-Cal and Healthy Families.

The findings underscore areas for improvements in California’s public insurance programs and suggest dimensions of access that should continue to be monitored.

The issue brief can be found under Document Downloads below.

Some of the studies cited in this issue brief can be found through the links under Related CHCF Pages below.

Document Downloads

Access to Physicians in California's Public Insurance Programs (142K)

Related CHCF Pages

Press Release 05/26/04

Examining Access to Speciality Care for California's Uninsured

Preventing Unnecessary Hospitalizations in Medi-Cal: Comparing Fee-for-Service with Managed Care

Physician Participation in Medi-Cal, 2001

Building and Sustaining Physician Networks in Medi-Cal Managed Care and Healthy Families

Help with Document Downloads and Media Players