SALISBURY — Medicaid, for many low-income Americans, is the only accessible way they are able to acquire insurance coverage for themselves and their families. According to its website, Medicaid provides coverage to over 85 million people in the United States. In Rowan County, residents on Medicaid are scrambling to get the care that they require.

To mitigate this growing healthcare concern, Dr. Andrew Treece has opened Provision Family Eyecare, right across the street from Rowan County Health Department, the only clinic in the county that solely accepts Medicaid and no other commercial insurance provider. Growing up in China Grove, Treece went to optometry school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Afterwards, he held a one-year residency at the Salisbury VA Medical Center, then worked at a private practice clinic for 10 years. Eventually, he decided to go out on his own to try and offer a service that not enough people in the county and in the entire state of North Carolina are getting.

“One of the main reasons for that is over those years I saw a need here in Rowan County for eye examinations for patients with Medicaid,” Treece said.

Medicaid allows people who are 20 years old or younger to get free eye exams and glasses once a year at no cost to them. People 21 and over can get an eye exam and glasses for $4 each. Some clinics in the county and state do accept Medicaid, but patients have trouble scheduling appointments due to the high demand. It can take as much as six months to see a doctor, which is not realistic for people who need eye care.

“Mind you most of these patients are children and they need glasses for school and just to function well. It really bothered me that we didn’t have more options for them,” Treece said.

In May of this year, Treece left his previous clinic to open Provision. Treece says Medicaid outsources their management through manage care plans. Treece describes it as a “heavy burden” to get credentialed for the plans, with some taking as long as three months for approval.

“There’s a big time investment on the front end where you’re not seeing patients, you’re no producing revenue, you’re not meeting the goal of providing eye care to your neighbors,” Treece said. “That comes at the expense of providing eye care to some of our most vulnerable neighbors here in Rowan County. Especially children, they have no say in that. A lot of the patients with Medicaid have difficulty with transportation, so they can’t travel long ways. Us being here in Salisbury city limits makes it convenient for them.”

That wait time, and the added overhead of carrying Medicaid eligible glasses, are some of the reasons clinics do not accept it. Treece says the initial wait is finally “paying off now.”

Treece has patients from Davidson and Cabarrus counties and also works with Salisbury and Cleveland Pediatrics to get referrals from them as well. Provision offers eye exams, treatment for eye disease and eye emergencies, and glasses. Medicaid does not cover contact lenses, but Provisions offers them for a small fee. At first, Treece saw four to six patients a day. Now he sees 20.

“It’s been a blessing. All of the patients that we have had through here the past couple months have really expressed their gratitude to have an option here that they can get seen quickly and comprehensively,” Treece said.

By only accepting Medicaid, Treece believes it has made his new clinic run faster and easier than expected. They have a smaller staff and everything is more streamlined since all the patients have the same benefits.

“We know every young person under 21 years old who walks through here doesn’t have to have a dime in their pocket because their eye examination and their glasses are free. No money changes hands, we don’t have to do transactions, it’s a smooth process,” Treece said.

On Dec. 1, Medicaid in North Carolina is expanding for those who have higher incomes. Treece says 75 percent of his patients are 20 and under, but that could change if more people become aware of Medicaid’s reach.

“Part of that may be because adults don’t realize they have that benefit. Several years back, Medicaid only covered eye exams for children…A lot of them are still under the impression they only cover children,” Treece said.

In the future, Treece would like to expand Provision and wants to open another practice that will accept both Medicaid and standard insurance.