Table 2.
Policies of Primary Care Office Sites Regarding Uninsured Patients
| Hospital/Health System–owned Sites N = 101 | Part of a Larger Group Practice N = 88 | On-site Physician-owned Sites N = 38 | P Value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accepts new patients without insurance, n (%) | 86 (85) | 78 (89) | 36 (95) | .12 (H/HS)6.28 (LGP) |
| n = 86†(%) | n = 78†(%) | n = 36†(%) | ||
| Requires payment at the time of service, n (%) | 53 (62) | 53 (68) | 35 (97) | <.001 (H/HS)<.001 (LGP) |
| Only sees uninsured patients with an acute problem, n (%) | 28 (33) | 23 (30) | 6 (17) | .07 (H/HS).14 (LGP) |
| Only sees uninsured patients with a chronic condition, n (%) | 26 (30) | 22 (28) | 7 (19) | .22 (H/HS).32 (LGP) |
| Offers a sliding scale/discount care, n (%) | 27 (31) | 23 (30) | 24 (67) | <.001 (H/HS)<.001 (LGP) |
| Offers a payment plan, n (%) | 60 (70) | 55 (70) | 36 (100) | <.001 (H/HS)<.001 (LGP) |
| Offers free care, n (%) | 24 (28) | 23 (30) | 34 (94) | <.001 (H/HS)<.001 (LGP) |
*
P value calculations are for matched samples, comparing proportions of hospital/health system–owned (H/HS) with physician–owned proportions and large group practice–owned (LGP) with physician-owned proportions.
†
The number of sites accepting new patients without insurance is used as the denominator for the percentages shown below.