The impact of the Affordable Care Act on patient coverage and access to care: perspectives from FQHC administrators in Arizona, California and Texas.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) enabled millions of people to gain coverage that was expected to improve access to healthcare services. However, it is unclear the extent of the policy's impact on Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and the patients they served. This study sought to understand FQHC administrators' views on the ACA's impact on their patient population and organization. It specifically explores FQHC administrators' perspective on 1) patients' experience with gaining coverage 2) their ability to meet patients' healthcare needs.

Methods

Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with administrators from FQHCs in urban counties in 2 Medicaid-expanded states (Arizona and California) and 1 non-expanded state (Texas). An inductive thematic an

SUBMITTER: Ercia A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8420058 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature