Obstetricians' receptiveness to teen prenatal patients who are Medicaid recipients.

OBJECTIVE

To test the accuracy of various physicians' participation in Medicaid models.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Primary data on 221 obstetricians and gynecologists in the Chicago area by telephone interviews over a four-month period. These data were combined with secondary data from the American Medical Association Master File (1993) and U.S. Census data (1990).

STUDY DESIGN

Telephone interviewers posing as the older sisters of a pregnant teenager who is a Medicaid recipient sought information regarding the care provided in a first prenatal care appointment (e.g., appointment duration, tests administered, delivery privileges, appointment availability).

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: A "receptionist helpfulness" variable was developed through pretesting on obstetricians in another city. Inter-interviewer reliability was enhanced through common interview technique education.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Only 81 obstetricians (36.7 percent) accepted new Medicaid patients. This finding is lower than previous research on physician participation in Medicaid. There was strong empirical support for both dimensions-cost containment and limited access-of the physicians' receptiveness model, the model introduced with this research. There was limited support for the dual market and residential segregation models of physician participation in Medicaid.

CONCLUSIONS

It is argued that this study's research design is more accurate in reflecting the barriers that a pregnant Medicaid-eligible patient encounters when seeking office-based prenatal care. As such, combining the physicians' receptiveness model with other physician participation in Medicaid models provides a more complete picture of access barriers to prenatal care for our most needy populations.