Medicaid physician fee levels and children's access to care

Abstract

This study examines the effects of physician fees on children's use of preventive and illness-related ambulatory physician services under the Medicaid program. Using data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES), we examine the effects of Medicaid fee generosity on physician service use and overall ambulatory physician spending. The results indicate that more generous fees are associated with a greater likelihood of having a doctor's office as a usual source of care and a higher number of preventive visits at office-based sites of care. Having a doctor's office as a usual source of care is associated with lower overall ambulatory physician expenditures.