Across the country, states and private insurers are struggling to catch their Medicaid members up to statewide vaccination rates.
An Aug. 27 Kaiser Health News report points to a handful of states — including California, Florida, Utah and Louisiana, among others — that have Medicaid vaccination rates at as little as half that of the state's total population's vaccination rates.
The state with the largest lag was Louisiana, with a 59 percent vaccination rate for the entire state compared to 26 percent for Medicaid enrollees.
However, some rural counties in states have rates below 26 percent. California's Lassen County has the lowest Medicaid vaccination rate in the state at 21 percent.
To close the gap, states and insurers have offered vaccination incentives, including gift cards, in hopes that a monetary incentive will bring up the low vaccination rates of states' poorest populations.