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Health Care Access and Utilization
With generous funding from KentuckyOne Health, CIK researchers are working on a number of studies investigating health care access and utilization in Louisville and Kentucky following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid expansion. While the primary focus is on Louisville Metro/Jefferson County, CIK researchers are hoping to expand the scope of their studies in the future to include an evaluation of the ACA rollout in Kentucky and beyond.
The preliminary focus of this evaluation is to examine:
- Penetration of enrollment activities within subpopulations
- Changes in enrollment within subpopulations
- Utilization patterns among the newly insured
- Response of providers to change in demand based on new coverage
- Workforce supply and projected labor force mix needs, including diversity
This spring, Drs. Benitez, Creel, and Jennings published an article entitled Kentucky’s Medicaid Expansion Showing Early Promise on Coverage and Access to Carein Health Affairs. Their analysis of data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) confirmed that in the first year of Medicaid expansion, both the number of uninsured and the number of people with unmet medical needs due to cost sharply decreased among Kentucky’s low-income populations.
Drs. Jennings and Creel initiated a study exploring changes in hospital delivery of health promotion services since the Community Health Needs Assessment requirement of ACA went into effect. Preliminary results were presented at the 2016 Academy Health Annual Research Meeting, and this work will inform other planned research on hospital community orientation.
In a mixed methods study, Dr. Buchino found that despite the addition of the Medicaid expansion population, the use of mental health services has not increased in West Louisville. Her study also revealed that residents of West Louisville neighborhoods still face numerous barriers to using health services.
Drs. Creel and Buchino are currently analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data to understand Louisville’s remaining uninsured population and their use of the health care system. They have also examined the evolution of outreach strategies and enrollment activities by Louisville kynectors and enrollment specialists.
For more information about the health care access and utilization studies, please contact Dr. Susan Buchino at susan.buchino@louisville.edu.
