Think Out Loud New OHSU study finds nearly a third of Medicaid-enrolled physicians don’t see Medicaid patients
Feb 23, 2026
Jane Zhu, an OHSU associate professor and primary care physician, discusses new nationwide data showing many physicians enrolled in Medicaid do not see Medicaid patients. She explains how enrollment can mislead access estimates. She highlights specialty differences, why doctors avoid Medicaid, and policy ideas to activate latent provider capacity.
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Enrollment ≠ Actual Medicaid Care
- Medicaid enrollment rates look high on paper but often don't reflect actual care delivery.
- OHSU found 70–90% of active physicians are enrolled, yet ~30% saw zero Medicaid patients in a year, inflating perceived access.
System Enrollment Creates Paper Participation
- Hospitals or large systems often enroll clinicians in Medicaid automatically as an employment condition.
- Jane Zhu explains enrollment can be done at the system level, not by each individual physician choosing to participate.
Provider Directories Mislead Patients
- Provider directories and enrollment lists overestimate available Medicaid clinicians, creating real patient harms.
- Patients call doctors listed as accepting Medicaid only to find no availability, causing delays and unmet medical needs.