‘Ghost’ Physicians: More Than One-Quarter Of Physicians Enrolled In Medicaid Delivered No Care To Beneficiaries In 2021 Jane M. Zhu, Kirbee A. Johnston, Kyle Hart, Daniel Polsky, and K. John McConnell

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00703?utm_campaign=february+2026+issue&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9BLRr9eq5puYMoXwiiu4vG_XbuID9VfvjQRSXskdGj9MUUADoS6eNFNo7Z_M_L5ml_uJmf434rc9Xv0nOI7UU9l7s18g&_hsmi=406122480&utm_source=well+read&journalCode=hlthaff The study found that although most physicians were enrolled in Medicaid, many provided little or no care to Medicaid patients, highlighting substantial variation in participation across specialties and the need for targeted policies to strengthen engagement and reduce access gaps.