Black, Hispanic/Latine, and Native American family physicians play a critical role in the care of minority Medicaid patients

Background and Goal: Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) physicians are key to better health outcomes for minority patients. However, the proportion of URiM physicians—such as Black, Hispanic/Latine, and Native American physicians—in the U.S. health care system remains low. This study links a unique dataset of information on family physicians’ race and ethnicity to national-level Medicaid claims data to examine the diversity of the family physician workforce caring for Medicaid beneficiaries.

Study Approach: Researchers analyzed data from 13,096 family physicians across 44 states. To do this, they used 2016 Medicaid claims data from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) and 2016-17 American Board of Family Medicine certification questionnaire responses. The study examined the diversity of Family Physicians’ Medicaid patient panels and whether the physicians saw at least 150 beneficiaries.

Main Results:

• URiM family physicians, particularly Black and Hispanic/Latine family physicians, are significantly more likely to participate in Medicaid by treating a substantial number of Medicaid patients.

• Black and Hispanic/Latine family physicians were more likely to be core Medicaid providers, defined as seeing at least 150 beneficiaries in 2016.

• The patient panels of URiM family physicians had a much higher proportion of Medicaid beneficiaries from racial and ethnic minorities.

Why It Matters: The findings of this study suggest physician race and ethnicity are correlated with Medicaid participation and emphasize the need to continue efforts to diversify the health care workforce.

A Few Doctors Will See Some of You: The Critical Role of Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) Family Physicians in the Care of Medicaid Beneficiaries

Anushree Vichare, PhD, MBBS, MPH, et al

Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity, Department of Health Policy and Management, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC

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