Abstract
Purpose :
Medicaid is one of the largest providers of healthcare coverage in the United States, with nearly a quarter of Floridians enrolled in a Medicaid plan. Access to eye care for this population thus rests on the proximity and availability of ophthalmologists and optometrists who accept Medicaid insurance. This study aims to assess the current landscape of access to eye care providers for Medicaid beneficiaries in Florida at the county level.
Methods :
Information on Medicaid-accepting ophthalmologists and optometrists, including name and address, was collected from the regional Medicaid provider directories available from Sunshine Health. Duplicates were eliminated and each unique physical address was counted once as a location. Provider density was calculated for all Florida counties as the number of locations with at least one Medicaid-accepting provider per 100,000 people. Medicaid enrollment for 2022 was obtained from FL Health Charts, a Florida Department of Health website. Mapping of eye care provider density was performed using ArcGIS Online.
Results :
Of the 67 counties in Florida, 29 counties (43.3%) had no ophthalmologists who accept Medicaid, while 24 counties (35.8%) had no Medicaid-accepting optometrists. The average county eye care provider density (ophthalmologists and optometrists) was 4.8 per 100,000 people and ranged from 0 in 20 counties (29.8%) to 16.4 per 100,000 people in Taylor County. This represents over three million people living in counties with no Medicaid-accepting eye care providers. This same population had an average Medicaid enrollment of 26.7% in 2022, slightly higher than the statewide enrollment rate of 24.5%.
Conclusions :
This study highlights a disparity in the county-level distribution of Medicaid-accepting eye care providers in Florida, representing a barrier to care for low-income Floridians. The number of Medicaid beneficiaries has only grown over the last few years, leading to increased concern for providing adequate access to care. This is particularly important given the increased prevalence of vision impairment and eye conditions in the low income population. Further research should explore this disparity in provider density and its relationship with Medicaid reimbursement and other factors in order to identify strategies to enhance access to eye care services and ultimately improve eye health equity.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.