Loss of Medicaid and access to health services

In this article, the authors assessed the effects of the loss of Medicaid eligibility on access to health services by the medically indigent population in two California counties. An historically derived baseline of health services received by each county's medically indigent adults under Medicaid was compared with the volume of services provided by the county to the same population after they lost Medicaid eligibility. The baseline figures were used as an "expected" volume of services which can be compared with the actual, or "observed," volume of services. The analysis found fewer hospital discharges than expected in Los Angeles and much fewer outpatient visits than expected in Orange County, suggesting that these groups experienced substantial reductions in access related to loss of Medicaid eligibility.