A recent survey of healthcare providers serving Louisiana’s Medicaid population has revealed that nearly 100 percent of primary care respondents are conducting COVID-19 screenings, and more than eight percent are offering rapid testing services. The survey, conducted by Wakely Consulting Group, LLC, at the request of the Louisiana Managed Medicaid Association (LMMA), was circulated to nearly 11,000 providers across the networks of the state’s five Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) in April. The survey closed on June 2, 2020, with 998 responses from both physical and behavioral health providers. Of primary care respondents, 95.2 percent indicated they are actively conducting COVID-19 screenings for their patients. Among Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), 98 percent are conducting screenings. Screenings are defined as a series of questions that determine a patient’s risk for COVID-19, including travel history, exposure and symptoms, and temperature checks.
Employee screenings within these practices is also a priority, according to the survey, with 76.2 percent of respondents screening employees. Among FQHC respondents, 98 percent are screening employees. The majority of respondents indicated they are also providing COVID-19 testing at their clinics, with 61 percent performing nasal swab testing, while 13 percent are administering sputum testing for patients with productive coughs. In addition, of the respondents, nine percent indicated they are offering rapid result testing to their patients.
Respondents not performing rapid result testing indicated that a lack of availability is the largest barrier. Nearly 14 percent of respondents indicated they are not performing any testing at all because they are not seeing patients in-person, as many providers continue to rely on telehealth to deliver care.
“The consistent thread across all respondents was that our healthcare providers need greater access to tests, both for their patients and for their own frontline staff. Similarly, our providers expressed a concern about the timeliness of test results, as they continue to experience a significant lag which can impede the delivery of quality care to their patients,” said Kathy Kliebert, LMMA Consultant. “These healthcare providers have demonstrated a tireless commitment to serving one of Louisiana’s most vulnerable populations. As the advocacy organization for the state’s five MCOs, LMMA is working diligently to help connect these dedicated physicians with the tools and resources they need to continue providing screening and testing services to Medicaid members across our state.”