Brief The Availability of New Patient Appointments for Primary Care at Federally Qualified Health Centers: Findings From an Audit Study
Brendan Saloner, Genevieve M. Kenney, Daniel Polsky
Display Date
File
File
Download Report
(499.91 KB)

This brief compares the availability of primary care appointments for new patients at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other non-FQHC practices using an audit study conducted in late 2012/early 2013. FQHCs were 24 percentage points more likely than non-FQHC providers to offer a new patient appointment to Medicaid callers and 39 percentage points more likely to offer an uninsured caller a visit for less than $75. The findings suggest that FQHCs are more willing than other providers to accommodate new Medicaid patients and offer low-cost appointments to uninsured patients, but that FQHC wait times are slightly longer.
Research and Evidence Health Policy
Expertise Health Care Coverage, Access, and Affordability Medicare and Medicaid
Tags Health insurance Health care delivery and payment Health equity Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program