Research from Vanderbilt University Yields New Findings on Medicare and Medicaid (Influence of provider mix and regulation on primary care services…

Research from Vanderbilt University Yields New Findings on Medicare and Medicaid (Influence of provider mix and regulation on primary care services supplied to US patients)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- Investigators publish new report on Medicare and Medicaid. According to news originating from Nashville, Tennessee, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "Access to medical care and how it differs for various patients remain key policy issues. While existing work has examined clinic structure's influence on productivity, less research has explored the link between provider mix and access for different patient types -which also correspond to different service prices."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Vanderbilt University, "We exploit experimental data from a large field study spanning 10 US states where trained audit callers were randomly assigned an insurance status and then contacted primary care physician practices seeking new patient appointments. We find clinics with more non-physician clinicians are associated with better access for Medicaid patients and lower prices for office visits; however, these relationships are only found in states granting full practice autonomy to these providers. Substituting more non-physician labor in primary care settings may facilitate greater appointment availability for Medicaid patients, but this likely rests on a favorable policy environment."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Relaxing regulations for non-physicians may be an important initiative as US health reforms continue and also relevant to other countries coping with greater demands for medical care and related financial strain."

For more information on this research see: Influence of provider mix and regulation on primary care services supplied to US patients. Health Economics, Policy, and Law, 2015;11(2):193-213 (see also Medicare and Medicaid).

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from M.R. Richards, 1Assistant Professor, Dept. of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States.

Keywords for this news article include: Nashville, Tennessee, Legal Issues, United States, Health Policy, Medicare and Medicaid, North and Central America.

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