Medicaid in the Inner City: the Case of Maternity Care in Chicago

The growing concentration of lower-income groups, including Medicaid patients, in homogeneous inner-city areas such as Chicago casts considerable doubt on the effectiveness of expanding Medicaid eligibility and raising physician reimbursement to improve access to maternity care. There are few private office-based physicians providing prenatal care in these areas, and most pregnant women and infants are treated by private-office-based physicians in very high-volume practices, prompting concern about the quality of care. Increasing the supply of providers is required to enhance access to maternity services in inner cities. Expanding eligibility and raising reimbursement rates are more apt to benefit "near-poor" women, who are more spatially dispersed, than clustered-poor female populations.