HCP Live (8/5, Derman) reports, “A recent study revealed Medicaid enrollees struggle to receive psychiatric care.” Investigators came to this conclusion after conducting “a ‘secret shopper’ audit study to evaluate availability and wait times for adult appointments with psychiatrists or mental health professionals across 4 of the largest US cities: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Phoenix,” all of which had “expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” The researchers found that “among the sampled clinicians, only 17.7% had availability, and 9.4% of the alternate clinicians at the same practice had availability.” The findings were published in JAMA.
Related Links:
— “Medicaid Enrollees Struggle to Receive Psychiatric Care,”Chelsie Derman, HCP Live, August 5, 2024