NEW YORK, June 15 (UPI) -- Some Medicaid plans owned by U.S. companies that manage enrollees have higher administrative costs than plans owned by other entities, a study indicates.
The Commonwealth Fund report released Wednesday found publicly traded for-profit companies whose main business is managing Medicaid enrollees spent an average of 14 percent of premiums on administrative costs, compared with an average of only 10 percent spent by non-publicly traded plans owned by groups of healthcare providers, health systems, community health centers or clinics.
In the report, "Assessing the Financial Health of Medicaid Managed Care Plans and the Quality of Patient Care They Provide," the authors said enrollment in Medicaid managed care is on the rise and is expect to continue to climb as most people eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act likely will join managed-care plans.
Enrollment in managed-care plans rose by more than 4 million people from 2004 through 2009, from 5.6 million to 9.8 million, the report said.
"Managed-care plans represent a large piece of Medicaid's future, and plans owned by publicly traded companies will likely be a growing share of this market," said lead author Michael McCue, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. "[To] assure that Medicaid provides high quality, efficient health care, it will be crucial that state Medicaid directors responsible for managed-care contracts take into account publicly traded plans' commitment to Medicaid and whether they are striking the right balance between providing high quality care to patients and increasing earnings."
