Access/Availability SLP

: Access /Availability SLP

Specifications : 1 Page , 1 Source , MLA Style

: language The overall goal of the Session Long Project is to examine health care delivery in the United States from a personal perspective

As the fourth assignment towards completing the Session Long Project discuss how your health plan rates in terms of Access

include a discussion of the 5 dimensions of access AND 3 levels of measurement , as described on the module homepage

Medicaid is a health-insurance scheme meant for those belonging to the low-income group , and is basically provided

by the State or the Federal Government under the HIPAA provisions . It provides the needy segment of the population with access to healthcare services and covers all medical care including ambulatory services , hospitalization , laboratory tests prescription medications , etc . More than 51 million individuals are covered in this scheme (Teresa A . Coughlin . 2005

Medicaid has a lot of implications with regards to access to healthcare A study was conducted to compare the performance of Medicaid with that of insurance provided to individuals having a low income . The studies have demonstrated that the access and the quality of services were comparable to private insurance , with relation to ambulatory services However , Medicaid suffered compared to private insurance with relation to provision of prescription medications and dental services . In most of the states the physicians provided comparable services to Medicaid patients in relation to those with private insurance (Teresa A Coughlin . 2005

At the moment , Medicaid is not performing uniformly across the various states in the US . Studies suggest that if all insurance schemes were working as efficiently as the top most state , more than 90 , 000 lives could be saved a year . Studies have demonstrated that as the access to care improved in the state , the quality of care also improved . The rates of uninsured were high in those states having poor quality standards . For example , the rates of provision of preventive care ranged from 65 from one state to about 29 in another . Childhood vaccination rates ranged from 94 to 75 . The rates of avoidable hospitalization also ranged greatly from one state to another . A high segment of the population did not receive preventive services under Medicaid . The death rates could also be improved if proper Medical care could have been provided (The Commonwealth Fund . 2007

On the whole , the people who had Medicaid services were in a poorer state of health and were not likely to be employed properly , compared to other segments of the population . It is very important that the coverage under Medicaid is improved so that these segments of the population could be benefited

References

Teresa A . Coughlin , Sharon K . Long and Yu-Chu Shen . Assessing Access To Care Under Medicaid : Evidence For The Nation And Thirteen States HYPERLINK "http /www .healthaffairs .org " Health Affairs , 24 .4 (2005 1073-1083 . HYPERLINK "http /content .healthaffairs .org /cgi /content /full /24 /4 /1073 http /content .healthaffairs .org /cgi /content /full /24 /4 /1073

The Commonwealth Fund First State...