Table 2.

Characteristics of Low Primary Care Physician (PCP) Capacity Counties

All High-NeedLow PCP–Low USCLow PCP–High USC
# counties1,037113113
# (%) Metro310 (29.9%)24 (21.2%)26 (23.0%)
% Rural57.665.182.5
Race/Ethnicity
 % Black17.918.114.8
 % Hispanic***13.028.03.1
 % Non-White***30.338.920.4
Socio-Economic
 SDI***80.186.576.7
Access to Care
 USC***23.369.281.3
 PCP Rate per 100K***44.813.717.8
 Other PC Provider Rate per 100K*109.869.682.9
 Family Physicians (FPs) per 100K***26.810.213.9
 Hospital Beds per 100K*44,18782,87259,498
 % Uninsured***20.829.117.4
 % Dual-Eligible22.926.325.4
 % No Broadband52.342.844.4
Utilization
 ACSCs Hospitalizations*3,3513,3073,940
 % Readmissions17.917.418.4
 ER Visits per 1000 Medicare FFS beneficiaries**635656631
 FQHC/RHC Visits per 1000 Medicare FFS beneficiaries**1,4271,909
Morbidity
 % Diabetes14.715.815.6
 % Smokers***21.522.324.1
 Hierarchical Category Condition (HCC)***1.031.071.02
  • *p<=0.05; **p<=0.01; ***p<=0.001.

  • High-need counties (n = 1,307) are defined as counties in the top tercile for social deprivation.

  • Abbreviations: SDI, social deprivation index; USC, usual source of care; ACSCs, ambulatory care sensitive conditions; FQHC, federally qualified health centers.