Access to health care in Michigan
Understanding the impact of health care coverage (or the lack of it) on health care access is crucial to improving health care in Michigan.
The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT), in partnership with the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) at Michigan State University, surveyed Michigan residents three times (in 2009, 2010, and 2012) on key issues relating to health care coverage, access to care, and health status. The latest survey, Cover Michigan Survey 2013, was fielded in the third quarter of 2012.
This report compares data from 2010 and 2012 and focuses on one aspect of that survey: The relationship between coverage status and access to care. Future reports will cover other aspects of health care in Michigan.
Key findings include:
- More respondents said they had an identified primary care provider than in 2010; the greatest increase was found among those with Medicaid coverage.
- Those with Medicaid coverage reported a significantly easier time in scheduling appointments for primary and specialty care than in 2010—now on par with those with employer-sponsored coverage.
- Those with individually-purchased coverage reported greater difficulty scheduling appointments for primary care than in 2010.
- Respondents reported using public or community health clinics as their usual sources of care at significantly higher rates than in 2010.
- Respondents who lacked coverage reported using emergency rooms and urgent care centers as their usual sources of care at considerably higher rates than those who had coverage.
Suggested Citation: Young, Danielle; Stadler, Phillip; Udow-Phillips, Marianne; Riba, Melissa. Access to Health Care in Michigan. Cover Michigan Survey 2013. March 2013. Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation. Ann Arbor, MI.
Acknowledgements: The staff at the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation would like to thank Matthew M. Davis, MD, MAPP, and Helen Levy, PhD, at the University of Michigan; Robert Goodman, DO, at Blue Care Network of Michigan; and the staff of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) at Michigan State University for their assistance with the design of the survey and data collection.