Barriers - long waits, fewer practitioners - are faced by pregnant women on Medicaid seeking prenatal care in the city of Chester, Norristown and in Philadelphia.

*Wait time ranges 3 days to 33 days

City of Chester in Delaware County

MCC investigated the experiences of women on Medicaid in search of prenatal care in the city of Chester. The charts below reveal that of 154 practitioners listed, only 18 were available, three of whom are only part-time. The average wait was 3 weeks for an initial appointment.

Pregnant women in the city of Chester have only one maternity unit available at the city's sole hospital, Crozer-Chester Medical Center. The hospital accepts just one of the five Medicaid insurance plans (Keystone Mercy Health Plan). Even for this pool of Medicaid patients that can access care at the hospital, there are often other barriers:

• Keystone Mercy Health Plan stopped enrolling new members from February to October 1, 2010. No new recipients of Medicaid were able to access non-emergency care at the hospital during that time.

• Crozer-Keystone Health System manages both Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Riddle Memorial Hospital, two of the three hospitals in Delaware County. The health system announced March, 2010 that they would end their contract with Keystone Mercy, leaving many families wondering where they would get care. In the end, Crozer-Chester renewed the contract on the day it was set to expire in late April, long after all Keystone Mercy members received notices that their insurance was no longer accepted.

Beginning in the summer of 2010 two new Medicaid health plans (Aetna Better Health and CoventryCares) developed contracts with prenatal care practitioners in Chester.

Prenatal appointments in the city of Chester (all MCOs)

*Wait time ranges 3 days to 33 days

*Wait time ranges 3 days to 33 days

*Wait time ranges 3 days to 33 days

Norristown in Montgomery County (2005-2010)

The average wait time for an initial prenatal care appointment in August 2010 was a shocking 11.5 weeks, just shy of a full trimester. Equally disturbing, of the 6 available practitioners, none accepted the two new Medicaid plans, Aetna Better Health and CoventryCares.

With the closure of Mercy Suburban hospital in February 2010, and the lack of other prenatal care options, there is only 1 clinic to serve all pregnant women on Medicaid in Norristown.  We need to do better for Norristown families!

Prenatal appointments in Norristown (all MCOs)

Keystone Mercy Health Plan: Prenatal appointments in Norristown

AmeriChoice: Prenatal appointments in Norristown

Health Partner's: Prenatal appointments in Norristown 

Aetna Better Health: Prenatal appointments in Norristown

CoventryCares: Prenatal appointments in Norristown

Each year we document the reasons that so many listings are inaccurate.  The pie charts below show the reasons for inaccuracies and their frequency.

Norristown Sister Speak Out 2010

Philadelphia in Philadelphia County

In 2007, there were three managed care organizations (MCOs) that offer plans to Medicaid recipients: Keystone Mercy Health Plan, AmeriChoice, and Health Partners. In our Survey of Prenatal Care Availability for Medicaid Managed Care Recipients in Philadelphia, MCC found that:

• The directories were more than 85% inaccurate. 
• Listed practitioners frequently were no longer available; the phone number was wrong; or the site listed no longer offered prenatal care. 
• Out of 1,500+ listings, only 139 practitioners at 61 prenatal care sites were available. 
• The waiting time for an initial appointment averaged just above the two-week standard.     

The consequences of inaccurate information were recognized and policy changes have been implemented by some of the MCOs and the Department of Public Welfare to assure consumers have accurate and easily accessible information. 

Please visit our Childbirth Crisis News page to read recent articles or Take Action on important issues!