As millions flock to acquire health coverage under the expanded Medicaid program under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the newly covered are generally happy to have insurance, but aren't quite sure how to unlock the full potential of their coverage.

This overview comes from a series of focus groups conducted by the research firm Perry Undem. The firm hosted focus groups in Denver, Chicago and Portland, Oregon this summer, discussing insurance coverage with Medicaid customers.

The researchers pointed out that the nature of the research — targeted focus groups in which a total of 60 people participated — should keep consumers of the data from extrapolating too broadly from it. But Perry Undem is nevertheless attracting attention due to some of its findings.

Recommended For You

Among them:

  • Many of those who got coverage via Medicaid didn't realize a couple of key facts: that they were eligible for it, and that Medicaid offered such coverage. Some in the focus groups said they merely went hunting for whatever coverage might be available to them, and wound up with Medicaid.
  • Once they had the coverage, they encountered obstacles to exploiting it fully. For instance, identifying a primary care clinician proved challenging. Many physicians won't take new Medicaid patients, and some had to search long and hard to find one. Psychiatric care was almost impossible for most to access — as was lining up dental care. Partner Mike Perry told the Washington Post that enrollees who found a dentist who would take their insurance ran into strict limits on what the coverage would pay for "which came as a 'big disappointment' since enrollees especially wanted this coverage," Perry said.
  • Some states didn't offer these newly insured any guidance to overcome such obstacles, the focus groups revealed. So thousands were left struggling to understand the terms of their coverage.

But such drawbacks aside, most of those interviewed were happy to finally have some coverage, even if it didn't live up to expectations.

"According to the research, new beneficiaries said before they were insured, they often delayed needed care or faced medical expenses for care they could not delay. Now, the beneficiaries said they feel more at ease knowing they have coverage and are less concerned about whether they can afford receiving health care," California Healthline reported. "Most of the beneficiaries said they already have used their benefits and reported feeling healthier. Further, all of the participants said that they would re-enroll in the coverage if they need to and that they have been encouraging friends and family members to enroll."

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.