title: A comparison study of access to health care under a Medicaid managed care program.
abstract: This article investigates the health care and insurance status of a low-income urban area in East Tennessee. The article reviews the background of TennCare, a compulsory Medicaid managed care program initiated in Tennessee in 1994. The study compared TennCare recipients with other insurance groups on key demographic and access variables. Possible explanations for how TennCare recipients rate their care also were examined. Qualitative analysis revealed accounts of long waiting periods, out-of-town specialist care, problems with obtaining pharmaceuticals, and general confusion about the new system. Implications of these findings for social work policy practitioners are discussed, and suggestions for alleviating the burden on patients are offered.
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996, USA. crocha@utk.edu
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Kabalka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008484:Medicaid / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011204:Poverty Areas; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012947:Social Work; D013714:Tennessee; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population