Healthcare Access for a Diverse Population with Schizophrenia Following the Onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on the most disadvantaged members of society, including minorities and those with disabling chronic illnesses such as schizophrenia. We examined the pandemic's impacts among New York State's Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia in the immediate post-pandemic surge period, with a focus on equity of access to critical healthcare. We compared changes in utilization of key behavioral health outpatient services and inpatient services for life-threatening conditions between the pre-pandemic and surge periods for White and non-White beneficiaries. We found racial and ethnic differences across all outcomes, with most differences stable over time. The exception was pneumonia admissions-while no differences existed in the pre-pandemic period, Black and Latinx beneficiaries were less likely than Whites to be hospitalized in the surge period despite minorities' heavier COVID-19 disease burden. The emergence of racial and ethnic differences in access to scarce life-preserving healthcare may hold lessons for future crises

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Disadvantaged · Disease · Environmental health · Ethnic group · Health care · Health equity · Infectious disease (medical specialty · Medicaid · Pandemic · Political science · Population · Psychiatry · Public health · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Nursing · Gerontology

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