New Findings Reported from George Washington University Describe Advances in Managed Care (Few clinicians provide a wide range of contraceptive methods to Medicaid beneficiaries): Managed Care

2026 JAN 15 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A new study on Managed Care is now available. According to news reporting out of Washington, District of Columbia, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Access to contraception services is an essential component of reproductive autonomy; however, low-income individuals frequently face barriers to care, including a shortage of providers who both accept Medicaid and offer contraception services. We used 2021 Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System Prescription and Other Service files to identify clinicians who provided contraception (prescription, implant, and/or intrauterine device (IUD)) to Medicaid beneficiaries.”

Financial support for this research came from Susan T. Buffett Foundation.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from George Washington University, “We identified 523 077 primary care and women’s health specialty clinicians (obstetrician-gynecologists, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and midwives) who provided care to reproductive aged (15-44 years) female Medicaid beneficiaries for any service; of these, only 181 019 (34.6%) provided at least one contraception method to Medicaid beneficiaries and even fewer 20 160 (3.9%) provided prescriptions (pill, patch, and/or ring), IUDs, and implants. Over half (54%) of US counties had greater or equal numbers of advanced practice clinicians-nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and midwives-prescribing contraception compared with physicians. Few clinicians provided a wide range of contraception to Medicaid beneficiaries. Advanced practice clinicians are important providers in counties with limited access to physicians.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Documenting workforce variation for contraception care has important implications for access, especially as recent policy changes may make contraception less accessible for Medicaid beneficiaries.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Few clinicians provide a wide range of contraceptive methods to Medicaid beneficiaries. Health Affairs Scholar, 2025;4(1).

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Taylor Gorak, Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, United States. Additional authors for this research include Julia Strasser, Sara Luckenbill, Yoon Hong Park and Qian Luo.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxaf242. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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