Does Medicaid Insurance Provide Sufficient Access to Pediatric Orthopedic Care Under the Affordable Care Act?

Abstract

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act had a profound impact on health insurance coverage of children. Given the importance of pediatric specialty care, this study assessed access to pediatric orthopedic urgent care for a child’s likely operative distal radius fracture. Researchers called 180 pediatric orthopedic surgeons in 8 states requesting appointments for the caller’s fictitious 11-year-old child who suffered a distal radius fracture. Each office was called twice to assess the ability to obtain an appointment for Medicaid and privately insured patients. Overall, significantly fewer offices scheduled appointments for Medicaid than privately insured patients (38.3% vs 82.8%, P