Racial Disparities Found In Primary Care & Emergency Room Use Among Medicaid Enrollees

Among Medicaid enrollees in three states, Black enrollees made fewer primary care visits and made more emergency department visits in 2016 than white enrollees. Black enrollees also made fewer visits for acute and chronic health conditions. The difference in utilization persisted among enrollees living in the same ZIP codes who were treated by the same health care professionals.

These findings were based on a review of administrative, utilization, and cost records from 2016 for more than 1.96 million Black and white Medicaid beneficiaries in three states. The analysis focused on the extent of differences in health care spending and . . .