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MEDICAID PRIMARY CARE WORKFORCE

Why This Matters
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You are here: Home >> Research >> Medicaid Primary Care Workforce >> U.S. Medicaid Primary Care Workforce Tracker

U.S. Medicaid Primary Care Workforce Tracker

State Year
Select Measure Select measure:​
1. Provider to population ratio (default): number of Medicaid providers (numerator) per 100,000 Medicaid population. Select the provider beneficiary volumes to include below.
2. % Participating: number of Medicaid providers (numerator) over the total providers (denominator). Select the providers to include below.
Select a Provider Type
Family Medicine
Internal Medicine
Pediatrics
OB/GYN
Advanced Practice
Registered Nurse
Physician Assistant
Provider Beneficiary Volume The number of beneficiaries a provider saw in the year: ​
1. 150+: 150 or more Medicaid beneficiaries.​
2. 11-149: 11 to 149 Medicaid beneficiaries.​
3. 1-10: 1 to 10 Medicaid beneficiaries.​
4. 0 but likely active: No Medicaid beneficiaries, but provided service to Medicare beneficiaries or had recent changes in Medicare/NPPES registration.​
5. 0 and likely inactive: No Medicaid beneficiaries and no Medicare beneficiaries, and had no recent changes in Medicare/NPPES registration.
Numerators
150+
11~149
1-10
0 but likely active
0 and likely inactive
Provider Beneficiary Volume Select providers to include in the denominator for % Participating in Medicaid.
Denominators
150+
11~149
1-10
0 but likely active
0 and likely inactive
County Rank Select to rank counties nationally or within the state.​
Nationwide
Within State
National View Select to display counties or states when viewing the national maps.​
County
State

The Medicaid Primary Care Workforce Tracker is an interactive map that allows you to examine and visualize the primary care workforce providing health care to individuals with Medicaid. The Tracker uses:​
  • Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) to identify primary care clinicians who saw Medicaid beneficiaries each year. T-MSIS collects Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) data from U.S. states, territories, and D.C., including fee-for-service and managed care plan data.​
  • National Plan & Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) to identify clinician profession/specialty and non-Medicaid providers.​
  • Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership (PECOS) and Doctors and Clinicians, along with NPPES to identify "Likely Active" providers – those active in Medicare (Doctors and Clinicians) or with update activity in NPPES or PECOS.​

Use the Medicaid Primary Care Tracker to:

  • Benchmark State Medicaid Workforce. In 2019, Medicaid primary care providers per 100,000 Medicaid population ranged from 294.5 in Rhode Island to 1634.3 in South Dakota. Active primary care providers participating in Medicaid ranged from 71.9% in Hawaii to 92.8% in Iowa.​
  • Identify County-Level Medicaid Workforce and Drill Down on Specialties. For example, in 2019, 1,323 (43.6%) of U.S. counties* had no Medicaid OB/GYNs.​
  • Track the Medicaid Workforce Over Time, from 2016 to 2019. Overall, the Medicaid primary care workforce* increased from 427,472 to 479,215. The vast majority of the growth (96.7%) was among Advanced Practice Clinicians.
  • Request the Data. If you would like access to the database for your own analysis, please submit a request. ​ ​
* In states with acceptable T-MSIS data quality

Limitations

  • T-MSIS Data Quality. While T-MSIS is the most comprehensive national Medicaid database, it has known data quality challenges. States with data quality issues are presented in gray in the Tracker and excluded from state and county rankings. T-MSIS data quality is discussed further in the Data & Methods.​
  • NPPES Data Quality. Accuracy of specialty designations is a known challenge, particularly for Advanced Practice Nurses and Physician Assistants who are less likely to identify a specialty. Our estimates likely overcount the number of Advanced Practice Clinicians in primary care.​
  • Number of Providers per Medicaid Population. As this measure uses Medicaid population as the denominator, the population will vary based on state policies (e.g., Medicaid eligibility and expansion). Variation in annual population estimates can also affect the measure year to year, particularly for smaller counties.​ We also note that Medicaid providers likely do not solely care for Medicaid beneficiaries. Therefore, this measure cannot be directly compared to other provider to population ratios.​

Resources

  • Data & Methods
  • Request Data
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  • About
    • Core Faculty and Staff
    • Affiliated Faculty
    • International Collaborators
    • Advisory Board
    • Legacy Fund
    • In Memoriam >
      • Catarina Castruccio-Prince
      • Fitzhugh Mullan
    • Contact Us
  • Workforce Trackers
  • Research
    • Health Workforce Research Centers
    • Health Workforce Diversity Initiative
    • Moral Injury Among Nurses
    • Social Mission Metrics
    • Reproductive Health Workforce
    • Behavioral Health Workforce
    • Medicaid Primary Care Workforce
    • Medical Assistant Workforce
    • Home Care Workforce
  • Action
    • Social Mission Alliance
    • Workplace Change Collaborative
    • Health Workforce Equity Summit
    • Health Workforce Speakers
    • Where are we speaking?
  • Education
    • Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity
    • Health Leadership Impact Fellowship
    • ​Residency Fellowship in Health Policy
  • Publications
    • Reports & White Papers