Access to Federally Qualified Health Centers and Emergency Department Use Among Uninsured and Medicaid‐insured Adults: California, 2005 to 2013

Abstract

Background

While improved access to safety net primary care providers, like federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), is often cited as a route to alleviate potentially preventable emergency department (ED) visits, no studies have longitudinally established the impact of improving access to FQHCs on ED use among Medicaid‐insured and uninsured adults. We aimed to determine whether improved access to FQHCs was associated with lower ED use by uninsured and Medicaid‐insured adults.

Methods

Using data from the Uniform Data System, U.S. Census Bureau, and California Office of Statewide Health Planning & Development, we conducted a longitudinal analysis of 58 California counties from 2005 to 2013. For each county‐year observation, we employed three measures of FQHC access: geographic density of FQHCs (delivery sites per 100 square miles), FQHCs per county resident (delivery sites per 100,000 county residents), and the proportion of Medicaid‐insured or uninsured residents ages 19 to 64 years that utilized FQHCs. We then used a fixed‐effects model to examine the impact of changes in the measures of FQHC access on ED visit rates by Medicaid‐insured or uninsured adults in each county.

Results

Increasing geographic density of FQHCs was associated with a 26% to 35% decrease in ED use by uninsured but not Medicaid‐insured patients. Increasing numbers of clinics per county resident and higher percentages of Medicaid‐insured and uninsured adults seen at FQHCs were not associated with reduced rates of ED use among either uninsured or Medicaid‐insured adults.

Conclusions

We were unable to detect a consistent association between our measures of FQHC access and ED use by Medicaid‐insured and uninsured nonelderly California adults, underscoring the importance of investigating additional drivers to reduce ED use among these vulnerable patient populations.

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