Medical care
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Comparative Study
Ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations and emergency visits: experiences of Medicaid patients using federally qualified health centers.
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) serve as regular sources of preventive and primary care for low-income families within their communities and are key parts of the health care safety net. ⋯ Having a regular source of care such as FQHCs can significantly reduce the likelihood of hospitalizations and ER visits for ACSCs. If the reported differentials in ACSC admissions and ER visits were consistently achieved for all Medicaid beneficiaries, substantial savings might be realized.
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Many Medicaid-eligible children are not enrolled in Medicaid and are not covered by private insurance. Reducing persistent lack of insurance for children requires a better understanding of why Medicaid-eligible children do not participate. ⋯ Local community providers can play an important role in outreach and enrollment for Medicaid. Availability and cost of ESI constrain private coverage for Medicaid-eligible children. Policies that encourage offers of insurance coverage by employers, decrease premiums, and encourage adoption of managed care could have important positive effects on coverage for this population.