Characterizing the Uptake of Newly Opened Health Centers by Individuals Dually Enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.

Abstract

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) increasingly provide high-quality, cost-effective primary care to individuals dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. However, not everyone can access an FQHC. We used 2012 to 2018 Medicare claims and federally collected FQHC data to examine communities where an FQHC first opened and determine which dual eligibles used it. Overall uptake was 10%, ranging from 6.6% among age-eligible urban residents to 14.8% among disability-eligible rural residents. Community-level uptake ranged from 0% to 76.4% (median = 5.5%; interquartile range = 2.8%-11.3%). Certain subpopulations of dual eligibles are significantly more likely to use FQHCs. Our findings should inform the targeting of future FQHC expansions.