Cass County

Low Income Primary Care Access

Summary of Information:

Low Income Population: 15,000 (at or below 200% FPL, 1998)

Regular full time equivalency: 11.5

Full time equivalents serving the low-income population: 4

Ratio of low-income population to low-income FTE: 3,750:1

Considered a shortage of providers: Yes, designated as a Low-Income HPSA 6/18/01.

Physicians accepting new patients: 85%

Physicians accepting new patients who have Medicaid coverage: 77%

Physicians who can provide interpretation for non-English speaking patients: 46%

Languages: Spanish

*Surveys completed 11/00

Community Input: There needs to be more choice of primary care providers. The hospital is struggling in Linden. Most obstetrical and gynecological care is out of county. The county needs more Spanish speaking providers and more Children’s Health Insurance Plan providers. The county needs help for ‘gap’ populations. There is no indigent dental care available and there need to be better MHMR screening/referral systems.

Prepared by Community Health Provider Resources, Texas Department of Health, as part of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation East Texas Rural Access Program; Spring 2001