Rural and frontier access to mental health prescribers and nonprescribers: A geospatial analysis in Oregon Medicaid.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Medicaid enrollees in rural and frontier areas face inadequate access to mental health services, but the extent to which access varies for different provider types is unknown. We assessed access to Medicaid-participating prescribing and nonprescribing mental health clinicians, focusing on Oregon, which has a substantial rural population.

Methods

Using 2018 Medicaid claims data, we identified enrollees aged 18-64 with psychiatric diagnoses and specialty mental health providers who billed Medicaid at least once during the study period. We measured both 30- and 60-minute drive time to a mental health provider, and a spatial access score derived from the enhanced 2-step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) approach at the level of Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs). Results

SUBMITTER: Charlesworth CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10590824 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature