Year: 2011
Funding: NNPHI PHS2 Award
Status: Completed
Overview
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) has recently transitioned from providing direct Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Services (EPSDT) for Medicaid eligible children to assuring the provision of these services within existing health delivery systems. This study will examine the historical impact of this transition on unmet need for EPSDT services among Medicaid eligible children. Focus will be placed on examining geographic and racial/ethnic disparities in unmet need and the role of other safety-net providers in absorbing increased demand for these services. South Carolina birth certificates and Medicaid eligibility and billing files will be linked to create a retrospective birth cohort of Medicaid eligible children 0-24 months of age spanning the years 1997-2010. Growth curve models will be used to examine cohort and structural changes in organization of public health services over time, and unmet need for EPSDT services among Medicaid eligible children. Although this study focuses on the provision of EPSDT services in South Carolina, the study findings, research questions, and methodologies could be applied to any personal health care service currently provided by public health agencies with the potential to be appropriately shifted to other sources.
Publications
Reports
- Children’s Access to Care Declines in Rural Areas When Local Health Departments Stop Clinical Services: Lessons from South Carolina (Brief, October 2014)
Presentations
- Rural Health Departments: Challenges and Opportunities (PHSSR Keeneland Conference, April 2014)
- Public to Private Transitioning of EPSDT Services: A Successful Venture (PHSSR Keeneland Conference, April 2013)
Contact
Nathan Hale
East Tennessee State University College of Public Health
halenl@etsu.edu
Research Areas