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Last week the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) released findings from the 2014-2015 Nationwide Adult Medicaid Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (NAM CAHPS) survey. Part of the findings focused specifically on adults with disabilities and showed that out of the 76,704 respondents nationwide, California scored last on four out of the five categories: (1) Getting Needed Care; (2) Getting Care Quickly; (3) Communications With Doctors; and (4) Health Plan Information & Customer Service (tied with Arkansas). California scored near the bottom for the fifth category: Access To Special Medical Equipment.
Forty six states and the District of Columbia participated in the 2014-2015 NAM CAHPS survey. Data collection occurred from December 2014 through July 2015. The overall response rate was 23.6%. The full report can be found here.
The survey did not include a deep look into the reasons for the variations between the states; however, the results demand a hard look at California’s access to medicaid services for adults with disabilities, including:
1) Medi-Cal provider reimbursement rates. California pays physicians and other Medi-Cal providers very low rates compared to other states. California is currently the 48th lowest paying state in the country, causing fewer providers to accept Medi-Cal. Fewer providers creates a lack of access, timeliness, and effective customer services.
2) Diverse language and cultural requirements. Approximately 44% of Medi-Cal enrollees are Hispanic/Latino and 19% are Asian/Pacific Islander, compared to 16% Hispanic/Latino in the NAM CAHPS survey. The state of California, health plans, and providers are all responsible for outreach efforts and information about services that beneficiaries can understand to make informed decisions.