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Purpose: To determine the effect of patient insurance status on access to outpatient orthopedic care for acute flexor tendon lacerations., Methods: The research team contacted 100 randomly chosen orthopedic surgery practices in North Carolina by phone on 2 different occasions separated by 3 weeks. The research team attempted to obtain an appointment for a fictitious 28-year-old man with an acute flexor tendon laceration. Insurance status was presented as Medicaid in 1 call and private insurance in the other call. Ability of an office to schedule an appointment was recorded., Results: Of the 100 practices, 13 were excluded because they did not perform hand surgery, which left 87 practices. The patient in the scenario with Medicaid was offered an appointment significantly less often (67%) than the patient in the scenario with private insurance (82%). The odds of the patient with private insurance obtaining an appointment were 2.2 times greater than the odds of the Medicaid patient obtaining an appointment. The Medicaid patient was more likely not to be offered an appointment owing to the lack of a hand surgeon at a practice (28% of appointment denials) than privately insured patients (13% of appointment denials)., Conclusions: For patients with acute flexor tendon lacerations, insurance status has an important role in the ability to obtain an orthopedic clinic appointment. We found that patients with Medicaid have more barriers to accessing care for a flexor tendon laceration than patients with private insurance., Type of Study/level of Evidence: Prognostic II., (Copyright © 2014 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Access to orthopaedic care for pediatric patients has been shown in previous studies to be decreased for patients with Medicaid compared with those with private insurance. The relationship between type of insurance and access to care for adult patients with acute rotator cuff tears has not yet been examined. This study aimed to determine if type of health insurance would have an impact on access to care for an adult patient with an acute rotator cuff tear., Methods: Seventy-one orthopaedic surgery practices within the state of North Carolina were randomly selected and contacted on 2 different occasions separated by 3 weeks. The practices were presented with an appointment request for a fictitious 42-year-old man with an acute rotator cuff tear. Insurance status was reported as Medicaid for the first call and as private insurance during the second call., Results: Of the 71 practices contacted, 51 (72%) offered the patient with Medicaid an appointment, whereas 68 (96%) offered the patient with private insurance an appointment. The difference in these rates was statistically significant (P < .001). The likelihood of patients with private insurance obtaining an appointment was 8.8 times higher than that of patients with Medicaid (95% CI: 2.5, 31.5)., Conclusion: For patients with acute rotator cuff tears, access to care is decreased for those with Medicaid compared with those with private insurance. Patients with private insurance are 8.8 times more likely than those with Medicaid to obtain an appointment., Level of Evidence: Basic science, survey study., (Copyright © 2013 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)