| A Mystery Caller Evaluation of Medicaid Staff Responses about State Coverage of Abortion Care. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22154890 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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OBJECTIVES: The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal Medicaid funding for abortion except when a woman is seeking an abortion for a pregnancy that is the result of rape or incest, or that threatens her life. We investigated how Medicaid staff in 17 states responded to inquiries about coverage for abortion in the few circumstances that qualify for federal Medicaid funding. METHODS: Using a mystery caller approach, we surveyed Medicaid staff about the availability of abortion coverage, the process for obtaining coverage, and the associated costs for an abortion in circumstances of rape and life endangerment in five states where Medicaid coverage should be available to cover most abortions and in 12 states with restrictions on the circumstances under which Medicaid funding can be used for abortion. FINDINGS: We were able to complete 82% of surveys. Medicaid staff definitively provided information about the availability of coverage that was consistent with state policies in 64% of surveys. However, 52% of staff reported that coverage could be difficult to obtain and that rigorous documentation of the circumstances of the abortion was required. Information about copays for abortion was given in 78% of surveys. We subjectively rated the caller's experience with Medicaid staff as excellent during 32% of the surveys, adequate in 61% of surveys, and poor in 7% of surveys. CONCLUSION: Medicaid staff provided inconsistent information that was often discouraging of women seeking abortion coverage, suggesting that women may have difficulties obtaining accurate information about Medicaid coverage of abortion, which may deter access to care. |
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Authors:
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Amanda Dennis; Kelly Blanchard |
Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2011-12-10 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health Volume: - ISSN: 1878-4321 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Dec |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-12-13 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9101000 Medline TA: Womens Health Issues Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Copyright Information:
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Copyright © 2011 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
Affiliation:
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Ibis Reproductive Health, Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
Export Citation:
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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