Medi-Cal Patient Satisfaction in Watts

An area probability sample of 519 households containing one or more Medi-Cal beneficiaries was interviewed in the predominantly black area of Watts, located in south central Los Angeles. The 519 households, consisting of 2,146 individuals, were classified according to their use of an OEO neighborhood health center, the South Central Multipurpose Health Service Center (SCMHSC). Services provided by SCMHSC to Medi-Cal beneficiaries were paid for by the Medi-Cal program on a fee-for-service basis at the same rates paid to other providers of service. The neighborhood health center was reported to be the usual source of health care for the families of 23 percent of the interviewees. Another 31 percent stated they or their families occasionally used it. Thirty-two percent said their family members rarely if ever went there for care, and 14 percent were living out-side the target area and theoretically were ineligible to use the center. When the ineligible households were excluded, the number of usual and occasional users of the center amounted to 63 percent of the 447 eligible households. Among those not claiming the center as their usual source of care, the private physician was most frequently cited, with hospital outpatient departments second. Medi-Cal users of the center were predominantly families with children: two-thirds of the persons were under the age of 18, and less than 3 percent were aged 65 or over. In contrast, those who used other services almost exclusively had a lower percentage under 18 (58 percent), and nearly 10 percent were aged 65 or over. Reasons most frequently given for choice of the center as the usual source of care were, in order of frequency, "easy to get to," "offers good care," and "free or low in cost." The importance of nearness to the facility was underscored by the fact that 43 percent of all group respondents said they walk to the center. In each of the four groups most respondents were satisfied with their choice of care, reporting that they were given a chance to tell what was wrong with them, were not rushed through their visits, had health matters explained to them understandably, and felt their conditions did improve after treatment. On the whole, questions refering to likes and complaints about the health center brought a substantial majority of favorable replies. A greater proportion of center users reported having recommended their usual source of care to others than did those mainly using services of a private physic