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Arkansas Medicaid Recipient Satisfaction Survey Results 2007

ConnectCare and ARKids First A are Arkansas Medicaid’s primary care case management programs, providing health care services to more than 400,000 Arkansans in state fiscal year 2007. ConnectCare has been nationally recognized as an innovative Medicaid care delivery system, winning the Ford Foundation’s coveted Innovations in American Government Award for 1997.

About the Survey

In 2007, AFMC's Medicaid Managed Care Services division was contracted by the Arkansas Department of Human Services' Division of Medical Services to conduct an independent recipient satisfaction survey. As in years past, the results indicate that Medicaid recipients, as a group, are generally very satisfied with the quality of health care they receive. Past surveys, in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005, have had similar findings.

The survey is one effort to provide continual monitoring and improvement for Arkansas Medicaid. Participants included 1,607 adult Medicaid recipients and 1,596 parents or guardians of child Medicaid recipients. The survey was conducted using the CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Health Plan Survey) standardized survey tool with HEDIS guidelines. CAHPS was scientifically designed to measure and report the experiences that form the basis of consumer satisfaction with health care. CAHPS was developed by Harvard Medical School, RAND and the Research Triangle Institute, and was funded by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.

Survey Response Rates 2007

 

Adult*

Child**

Survey sample size

1,607

1,596

Total surveys returned

468

450

Cooperation rate

29.1%

28.2%

Usable surveys

397

442

Response rate

24.7%

27.7%

*Beneficiaries 18 or older as of 6/30/07
**Beneficiaries 17 or younger as of 6/30/07

Overall Quality and Satisfaction 2007

Survey participants were asked to rate their satisfaction with the following on a scale from 0 (worst possible) to 10 (best possible). Below are the average rates of satisfaction of all responses received, along with the percentages of participants who indicated a high degree of satisfaction (8 or higher).

 

Adult

Child

 

Average Rating

Percentage 8 or Higher

Average Rating

Percentage 8 or Higher

PCP

8.46

75%

8.49

77%

Specialist

7.98

80%

8.22

76%

Quality of Care

7.46

54%

8.54

77%

Medicaid/
ARKids First-A

7.36

57%

8.91

86%

Dental Care

N/A

N/A

8.38

78%

Utilization of Services 2007

Percent of respondents who reported:

Adult

Child

Visiting the doctor

90%

83%

Visiting the ER

N/A

28%

Visiting the dentist

N/A

39%

Calling their doctor for advice

N/A

60%

Getting medical care for regular/routine needs

83%

63%

Getting medical care for illness/injury

63%

52%

Seeing a specialist

44%

39%

High number of doctor's visits (3 or more)

57%

36%

High number of ER visits

N/A

4%

 

Getting the Care You Need 2007

In 2007, 72% of adult and 77% of child respondents said it was “not a problem” to:

Adult

Child
  • Get a personal doctor with whom they were happy.
  • See a specialist.
  • Get the care they or a doctor believed necessary.
  • Get health care without any delays pending approval from Medicaid (ConnectCare)/ARKids First-A.

72%

77%

 

Getting Care Without Long Waits 2007

In 2007, 78% of adult and 74% of child respondents said they “always or usually”:

Adult

Child
  • Received the help or advice they needed when they called their doctor’s office during regular office hours.
  • Received an appointment for regular or routine health care as soon as they wanted.
  • Received immediate care for an illness or injury as soon as they wanted.
  • Were taken to the exam room within 15 minutes of their appointment.

78%

74%

 

Courtesy, Respect, Helpfulness of Staff 2007

In 2007, 61% of adult and 88% of child respondents said their doctor’s office staff “always or usually”:

Adult*

Child
  1. Treated them with courtesy and respect.
  2. Was as helpful as they thought the staff should be.

61%

88%

 

Doctors Who Communicate Well/
Spend Enough Time With Patients 2007

In 2007, 88% of adult and 89% of child
respondents said their doctor “always or usually”:

Adult*

Child
  • Listened carefully to them.
  • Explained things in a way they could understand.
  • Showed respect for what they had to say.
  • Spent enough time with them.

88%

89%

 

Customer Service 2007

In 2007, 58% of adult respondents reported that they “always or usually”:

Adult
  • Found needed information about how Medicaid (ConnectCare) works through written materials or the Internet.
  • Found the forms from Medicaid (ConnectCare) easy to fill out.

 

58%

And 76% of child respondents reported it was “not a problem”:

Child
  • To find or understand information on how Medicaid (ARKids First A) works in written material or on the Internet.
  • To get the help they needed when they called Medicaid (ARKids First A) customer service.
  • To fill out paperwork for ARKids First A.

 

76%
 

Link to pdf of Arkansas Medicaid ConnectCare/ARKids First A Survey

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