Lets Get Involved
Physician and Medicaid
Although the New York State HIV primary care Medicaid program is an excellent contribution to the prevention of HIV/AIDS, surprisingly not all of the qualified HIV positive population is taking advantage of it. Obviously, if I was Orange County’s public health official, this is a problem I must address. According to Ellison, Jansky, and Oldak study of enrollment in drug abuse treatment there are several obstacles instituted regarding the process of submission to Medicaid. For example, regarding the barriers 47.9% agreed that is was too much of a ‘hassle’ to apply for Medicaid. In other words, about half of the population is not receiving testing or treatment because it is merely a “hassle” to enroll in this program. This is an astounding and upsetting medical finding. Subjects of the study describe photo identification, delaying entry, length and details of application as “hassles.” In order to solve the “hassle” problem, I would like to facilitate a program that helps individuals to fill out the Medicaid forms and applications. I would like to emulate a program that the New York Mid Hudson Valley Planned Parenthood uses for their services in which they assist with application procedure, and notify their desirable information for the application. Although the patient still would have to provide a photo id for the Medicaid application, the medical practice could work harder to help these patients who lack photo identification or search for a compromise. Hopefully, this would decrease the bureaucracy between health officials, patients, and insurance/social services. If the health officials can help facilitate and manage the Medicaid process, most likely more financially restricted patients will longer suffer from barriers and enter the New York State Primary Care HIV Program. Ultimately, the HIV positive patients who are financially risk will be able to seek, access, and receive care without any costs.