Medicaid enrollees less likely to get coronavirus vaccine; distrust, barriers to access cited as reasons - Entrepreneur Generations

Medicaid beneficiaries are getting the coronavirus vaccination at lower rates than the general population, data reveal. Experts worry about the trend because the poorest Americans tend to have worse health outcomes and a shorter lifespan, Sandhya Raman reports for Roll Call.

In Kentucky, for example, one-third of the state's population is covered by Medicaid. "Of the 1.6 million people in Kentucky covered by the government health plan, only 27 percent of those eligible have received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to about 51% of Kentuckians overall, according to the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services," Deborah Yetter reports for the Courier Journal in Louisville. "That means more than 870,000 adults and children 12 or older covered by Medicaid remain unvaccinated, according to numbers the cabinet provided." Just over 320,000 Medicaid enrollees in Kentucky have been vaccinated.

"The reasons why vaccination is lower for this population are complex but could include economic barriers like lack of access to transportation and child care or less flexible work schedules," Raman reports. "A nationwide poll also showed higher levels of vaccine hesitancy among lower-income individuals."

Dr. John Jones, who treats Medicaid patients in Eastern Kentucky, said it would be difficult to persuade many of his patients to get vaccinated. There is a general distrust of outsiders,  he told Yetter, and said most vaccine-hesitant people would be more likely to listen to someone they know.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/3j0VL5N Medicaid enrollees less likely to get coronavirus vaccine; distrust, barriers to access cited as reasons - Entrepreneur Generations

Posted by Entrepreneur Generations

Tweet