Managed Care
Massachusetts Tackles Health Costs
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (AP) Like the federal Affordable Care Act, the 2006 Massachusetts health law it was patterned after was aimed primarily at providing health coverage for the uninsured. There’s no question it did that. Fewer than 2 percent of adults and 1 percent of children remain uninsured in the state. But like the […]
Studies Point to Flaws in Florida’s Medicaid Managed Care
Like many other states in fiscal duress, Florida sliced a large portion of its Medicaid budget this fiscal year, primarily by cutting payments to hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers. Next year, Governor Rick Scott wants to double the size of reductions to the federal-state program — again by cutting provider fees. Within […]
Medicaid Directors to Feds: Give States Flexibility
State Medicaid directors are asking the federal government to fast-track state Medicaid improvements by emphasizing health over bureaucratic process and rapidly disseminating best practices so that states can benefit from the success of others. “Much of the potential gain from states serving as the laboratories of experimentation has been lost,” says a November 9 report […]
Kaiser Report: More Growth in Medicaid Managed Care
More than half of all states report having plans to expand managed care to more beneficiaries as a way to cut costs and improve service, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual survey of states. Medicaid managed care plans — in which states provide a lump sum to private insurers to cover some or all […]
Managed Care Explained: Why a Medicaid Innovation is Spreading
One of the most controversial state health initiatives this year is a plan in Florida to cut Medicaid costs by dramatically expanding the use of managed care. Florida lawmakers voted to move all Medicaid enrollees in the state — more than 3 million people who are poor, elderly or disabled — to commercial managed care […]
Crushed by Medicaid Costs, States Expand Managed Care
Last week, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a health care reform bill that will dramatically change the way many Medicaid patients receive care. The bill aims to push half of Illinois’ Medicaid caseload into the hands of managed care organizations by 2015. Illinois has a long way to go to reach that goal: Only 8 […]
States Forging Ahead On Healthcare Measures
States are way ahead of the U.S. Congress when it comes to setting standards for managed care. Forty three states and the District of Columbia have passed comprehensive Patients’ Rights legislation and three states Texas Georgia and Louisiana have given health insurance customers the right to sue their HMO. Ohio is the latest state to […]