Dive Brief:
- Some of the states that aren't expanding Medicaid and the ACA, such as Texas and Florida, are expanding Medicaid managed care programs instead.
- In Texas for example, enrollment numbers in Medicaid managed care total about 5.2 million residents.
- In Florida, the statewide Medicaid Managed Care program is being rolled out in two phases, the first of which will serve 90,000 disabled and elderly residents, and the second provide acute care services and prescription drug services to eligible recipients of all ages.
Dive Insight:
Expanding Medicaid managed care programs offers patients additional options, but it doesn't expand the financial criteria under which poor residents can qualify for Medicaid. So while enhancing Medicaid managed care options may serve the existing population of Medicaid beneficiaries well, it doesn't increase overall eligibility, which leaves large numbers of the poor uninsured.