The Impact of the 2020 Medicaid Expansion in a Community Clinic Serving the Marshallese Population in a Rural State
Introduction In December of 2020, the US government passed into law a bill allowing states to enroll Compact of Free Association citizens (including citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands) into Medicaid. This study analyzes the impact of this expansion on the healthcare of Marshallese...
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University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Regional Medical Campuses |
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| Online Access: | https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/jrmc/article/view/6159 |
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| author | Robert Brand Samantha Robinson Mohammod Mahmudur Rahman Alshaimaa Hazaa Sheena CarlLee Hanna Jensen |
| author_facet | Robert Brand Samantha Robinson Mohammod Mahmudur Rahman Alshaimaa Hazaa Sheena CarlLee Hanna Jensen |
| author_sort | Robert Brand |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Introduction
In December of 2020, the US government passed into law a bill allowing states to enroll Compact of Free Association citizens (including citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands) into Medicaid. This study analyzes the impact of this expansion on the healthcare of Marshallese patients at a dedicated community clinic on a regional medical campus, serving this unique population.
Methods
Through retrospective review of patients who utilized the community clinic either before (05/2020 to 02/2021) or after (05/2021 to 02/2022) the Medicaid expansion, this study sought to compare patients’ insurance information, number of total patients visiting the clinic, number of total patient visits, referrals per patient, and completed referrals per patient were compared between time periods.
Results
A total of 378 patients utilized the clinic during the study period. The results demonstrated a significant increase in patient utilization of healthcare services (20.1% vs. 8.7%, p<0.01), percentage of clinic visits that included referrals (23.6% vs. 16.5%, p<0.01), and percentage of completed referrals following the Medicaid expansion (16.1% vs. 10.5%, p=0.03). Analyses of comorbidities indicated similar disease burden in both pre and post cohorts.
Conclusion
The study’s findings suggest an increase in the use of healthcare services following the expansion of Medicaid services to previously uninsured patients. Existing literature documents the gaps in primary care services for underrepresented and uninsured populations in the United States and the significant consequences of lack of access to care. Findings from this study can aid health policymakers in designing and implementing new strategies to increase healthcare access and utilization in target populations. Future research is needed to determine how these healthcare-related behaviors affect patient health and how expanding healthcare policies may elucidate such results on a larger scale.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ff699071051d40c8be3308b9390a9f9d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2576-5558 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Regional Medical Campuses |
| spelling | doaj-art-ff699071051d40c8be3308b9390a9f9d2025-02-09T21:38:45ZengUniversity of Minnesota Libraries PublishingJournal of Regional Medical Campuses2576-55582024-12-017410.24926/jrmc.v7i4.6159The Impact of the 2020 Medicaid Expansion in a Community Clinic Serving the Marshallese Population in a Rural State Robert Brand0Samantha Robinson1Mohammod Mahmudur Rahman2Alshaimaa Hazaa3Sheena CarlLee4Hanna Jensen5University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest Regional CampusUniversity of Arkansas and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest Regional CampusUniversity of Arkansas, University of Kansas Medical Center, and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest Regional CampusUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Northwest Regional CampusUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest Regional CampusUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest Regional Campus Introduction In December of 2020, the US government passed into law a bill allowing states to enroll Compact of Free Association citizens (including citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands) into Medicaid. This study analyzes the impact of this expansion on the healthcare of Marshallese patients at a dedicated community clinic on a regional medical campus, serving this unique population. Methods Through retrospective review of patients who utilized the community clinic either before (05/2020 to 02/2021) or after (05/2021 to 02/2022) the Medicaid expansion, this study sought to compare patients’ insurance information, number of total patients visiting the clinic, number of total patient visits, referrals per patient, and completed referrals per patient were compared between time periods. Results A total of 378 patients utilized the clinic during the study period. The results demonstrated a significant increase in patient utilization of healthcare services (20.1% vs. 8.7%, p<0.01), percentage of clinic visits that included referrals (23.6% vs. 16.5%, p<0.01), and percentage of completed referrals following the Medicaid expansion (16.1% vs. 10.5%, p=0.03). Analyses of comorbidities indicated similar disease burden in both pre and post cohorts. Conclusion The study’s findings suggest an increase in the use of healthcare services following the expansion of Medicaid services to previously uninsured patients. Existing literature documents the gaps in primary care services for underrepresented and uninsured populations in the United States and the significant consequences of lack of access to care. Findings from this study can aid health policymakers in designing and implementing new strategies to increase healthcare access and utilization in target populations. Future research is needed to determine how these healthcare-related behaviors affect patient health and how expanding healthcare policies may elucidate such results on a larger scale. https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/jrmc/article/view/6159MedicaidPacific Islander HealthMinority HealthCommunity ClinicRegional Medical Campus |
| spellingShingle | Robert Brand Samantha Robinson Mohammod Mahmudur Rahman Alshaimaa Hazaa Sheena CarlLee Hanna Jensen The Impact of the 2020 Medicaid Expansion in a Community Clinic Serving the Marshallese Population in a Rural State Journal of Regional Medical Campuses Medicaid Pacific Islander Health Minority Health Community Clinic Regional Medical Campus |
| title | The Impact of the 2020 Medicaid Expansion in a Community Clinic Serving the Marshallese Population in a Rural State |
| title_full | The Impact of the 2020 Medicaid Expansion in a Community Clinic Serving the Marshallese Population in a Rural State |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of the 2020 Medicaid Expansion in a Community Clinic Serving the Marshallese Population in a Rural State |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of the 2020 Medicaid Expansion in a Community Clinic Serving the Marshallese Population in a Rural State |
| title_short | The Impact of the 2020 Medicaid Expansion in a Community Clinic Serving the Marshallese Population in a Rural State |
| title_sort | impact of the 2020 medicaid expansion in a community clinic serving the marshallese population in a rural state |
| topic | Medicaid Pacific Islander Health Minority Health Community Clinic Regional Medical Campus |
| url | https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/jrmc/article/view/6159 |
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