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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Steve Borders, MHA, Public Policy Research Institute & Dept of Urban and Regional Sciences, Texas A and M University, MS 1266, College Station, TX 77843, James Dyer, PhD, Public Policy Research Institute & School of Rural Public Health, Texas A and M University, MS 1266, College Station, TX 77843, and Craig Blakely, School of Rural Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Texas A&M U, MS 1266, College Station, TX 77843-1266, 979/862-2419, sborders@ppri.tamu.edu.
Potential access to care can only be realized when barriers are removed. The Medical Transportation Program (MTP) is designed to remove transportation barriers by providing non-emergency transportation for Medicaid covered services. About 7% of the Texas Medicaid population rely on MTP to assist with healthcare transportation needs. A recent evaluation of MTP found that several current policies exacerbate transportation problems for Medicaid recipients, especially for families with more than one child at home. Parents cannot bring a child's sibling(s) along on the trip to the healthcare provider under current MTP policy. As a result, parents are forced to find childcare when taking an ill child to the doctor or for preventive services, such as EPSDT. In 2001, 39% of Texas parents with more than one Medicaid eligible child reported both difficulties finding childcare and transportation, suggesting that the current policy adds an additional barrier to accessing care for a number of Medicaid eligible children. Because transportation is such a significant problem for many Medicaid recipients in Texas, MTP undertook a vast outreach and educational campaign in 2001, improving Medicaid recipient knowledge of the program from a low of 32% in 1998 to 68% in 2001. Although general knowledge about MTP is improving, MTP's outreach efforts are falling short. In 2001, 32% of parents with Medicaid eligible children reported having unmet transportation needs and no knowledge of the MTP, further suggesting that a substantial number of parents could potentially benefit from MTP services if aware of the program.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation, attendees will
Keywords: Access and Services, Medicaid
Related Web page: ppri.tamu.edu
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.