Access to general obstetrics and gynecology care among Medicaid beneficiaries and the privately insured: a nationwide mystery caller study in the USA

BACKGROUND: The mean wait time for new patient appointments has been growing across specialties, including obstetrics and gynecology, in recent years. This study aimed to assess the impact of insurance type (Medicaid versus commercial insurance) on new patient appointment wait times in general obstetrics and gynecology practices. METHODS: A cross-sectional study used covert mystery calls to general obstetrician gynecologists. Physicians were selected from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists directory and stratified by districts to ensure nationwide representation. Wait times for new patient appointments were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Regardless of insurance type, the mean wait time for all obstetrician gynecologists was 29.9 business days. Medicaid patients experienced a marginally longer wait time of 4.8% (Ratio: 1.048). While no statistically significant difference in wait times based on insurance type was observed (P=0.39), the data revealed other impactful factors. Younger physicians and those in university-based practices had longer wait times. The gender of the physician also influenced wait times, with female physicians having a mean wait time of 34.7 days compared to 22.7 days for male physicians (P=0.03). Additionally, geographical variations were noted, with physicians in American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District I (Atlantic Provinces, CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) having the longest mean wait times and those in District III (DE, NJ, PA) the shortest. CONCLUSIONS: While the type of insurance did not significantly influence the wait times for general obstetrics and gynecology appointments, physician demographic and geographic factors did.