Bearing the Burden: Rural implications of licensed professionals' exclusion from Medicare

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorFullen, Matthew C.en
dc.contributor.authorWiley, Jonathan D.en
dc.contributor.authorMorgan, Amy A.en
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-07T16:09:22Zen
dc.date.available2020-01-07T16:09:22Zen
dc.date.issued2019en
dc.date.updated2020-01-07T16:09:19Zen
dc.description.abstractMedicare beneficiaries are unable to access mental health services provided by some licensed master’s-level clinicians, including licensed professional counselors (LPCs). Provider shortages in rural localities, combined with Medicare policy exclusion of these licensed mental health professionals, exacerbates rural mental health care access disparities. Very little is known about the impact of LPC exclusion from Medicare on rural beneficiaries. This study explored the lived experiences of mental health professionals who have turned away clients because of their Medicare-ineligible provider status. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed as a qualitative form of inquiry to guide the research design, participant recruitment, data collection, and analysis. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 9 Medicare-ineligible mental health professionals from a single, Mid-Atlantic state in the United States who have turned away clients because of their Medicare-ineligible provider status. Evidence from rural and nonrural practitioners highlighted the contextual implications of Medicare provider exclusion on rural beneficiaries. One superordinate theme, undue burden, is described through three emergent themes from the interview data: geographical disparities, intersectional hardships, and practice constraints. The results suggest that current Medicare provider regulations may create disparities of mental health care availability and accessibility for Medicare beneficiaries from rural communities. The qualitative evidence of this study describes systemic and proximal factors that result in unexpected termination, deterred help-seeking behavior, and untimely treatment for older adults and disabled clients within rural mental health care settings.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.extentPages 118-129en
dc.identifier.issue4en
dc.identifier.orcidFullen, Matthew [0000-0002-6534-6622]en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/96309en
dc.identifier.volume43en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.titleBearing the Burden: Rural implications of licensed professionals' exclusion from Medicareen
dc.title.serialJournal of Rural Mental Healthen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.otherArticleen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/All T&R Facultyen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Liberal Arts and Human Sciencesen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Liberal Arts and Human Sciences/School of Educationen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Liberal Arts and Human Sciences/CLAHS T&R Facultyen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Techen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Rural Implications of Licensed Professionals’ Exclusion from Medicare.pdf
Size:
141.76 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

All Faculty Deposits
Scholarly Works, Human Development and Family Science
Scholarly Works, School of Education
Strategic Growth Area: Equity and Social Disparity in the Human Condition (ESDHC)