Medicaid managed care for mental health services in a rural state

State governments throughout the country increasingly have turned to managed care for their Medicaid programs, including mental health services. We used ethnographic methods and a review of legal documents and state monitoring data to examine the impact of Medicaid reform on mental health services in New Mexico, a rural state. New Mexico implemented Medicaid managed care for both physical and mental health services in 1997. The reform led to administrative burdens, payment problems, and stress and high turnover among providers. Restrictions on inpatient and residential treatment exacerbated access problems for Medicaid recipients. These facts indicate that in rural, medically underserved states, the advantages of managed care for cost control, access, and quality assurance may be diminished. Responding to the crisis in mental health services, the federal government terminated New Mexico's program but later reversed its decision after political changes at the national level. This contradictory response suggests that the federal government's oversight role warrants careful scrutiny by advocacy groups at the local and state levels.     

Payment reform. The lynchpin of health care reform

The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that was signed into law last year includes provisions that will improve access to health care for everyone in the United States and extend insurance coverage to some 300 million people who currently do not have it. But insurance reforms and expansion of coverage are only part of the solution to the problems within our health care system.The way health care is paid for is another important element of reform.This article describes the steps we need to take to change the way we pay for health care and efforts that are underway both in the United States and Minnesota to test new payment models.     

Managed care and dually eligible beneficiaries: challenges in coordination

This article describes administrative issues and beneficiary perspectives on the delivery of medical services under Medicare+Choice (M+C) and/or Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) for dually eligible beneficiaries. We interviewed staff at nine health plans in four market areas in 2000 and 2001, and conducted beneficiary focus groups in 2001. The study reveals beneficiary confusion about the relationship between their dual coverage and managed care enrollment, and problems with care and benefit coordination across these arrangements, based on regulatory and administrative obstacles to effective benefit and care coordination for beneficiaries enrolled in these varied managed care arrangements.     

Medicare beneficiaries less likely to experience cost- and access-related problems than adults with private coverage

The experiences of people covered by Medicare and those with private employer insurance can help inform policy debates over the federal budget deficit, Medicare's affordability, and the expansion of private health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. This article provides evidence that people with employer-sponsored coverage were more likely than Medicare beneficiaries to forgo needed care, experience access problems due to cost, encounter medical bill problems, and be less satisfied with their coverage. Within the subset of beneficiaries who are age sixty-five or older, those enrolled in the private Medicare Advantage program were less likely than those in traditional Medicare to have premiums and out-of-pocket costs exceed 10?percent of their income. But they were also more likely than those in traditional Medicare to rate their insurance poorly and to report cost-related access problems. These results suggest that policy options to shift Medicare beneficiaries into private insurance would need to be attentive to potentially negative insurance experiences, problems obtaining needed care, and difficulties paying medical bills.     

Access to cancer drugs in Medicare Part D: formulary placement and beneficiary cost sharing in 2006

The Medicare Part D benefit expands the universe of cancer drugs and biologics that Medicare may cover. Individual Part D plans have discretion to determine their formularies and cost sharing for drugs within federal guidelines. This paper analyzes differences in coverage and cost sharing for cancer drugs among these plans. We find that many cancer drugs, including brand-name products, are covered by almost all plans, although prior authorization might limit access to some. In addition, many plans charge a relatively low copayment for most cancer drugs. These findings suggest that Part D could greatly expand beneficiaries' access to cancer treatments.     

State health system performance and state health reform

State policy officials are focusing on improving health insurance coverage, but other important dimensions of performance, including quality and cost, are receiving less attention. This paper explores the implications of new data on state personal health spending, quality, and health system performance. Personal health spending is not related to mortality or quality, but Medicare spending is closely linked to preventable hospitalization. States need to link improved insurance coverage with policy strategies to improve quality and efficiency--such as requiring those covered to designate a medical home and changing payment methods to reward care coordination and more prudent stewardship of resources.     

The post-katrina conversion of clinics in new orleans to medical homes shows change is possible, but hard to sustain

Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the health care infrastructure in and around New Orleans in 2005. We describe a natural experiment that occurred afterward, amid efforts to rebuild the city's health care system, in which diverse safety-net clinics were transformed into medical homes. Using surveys of clinic leaders and administrative data, we found that clinics made substantial progress in implementing new clinical processes to improve access, quality and safety, and care coordination and integration. But there was wide variation, with some clinics making only minimal progress. Because the transformation was closely tied to the receipt of federal grants and bonus payments, we observed declines in performance toward the end of the study, when clinics faced diminished federal funding and refocused their priorities on survival. Now that federal funds have dried up, moreover, clinics may be losing ground in sustaining their practice changes. The experience shows that payment to support medical home transformation must be robust and stable, and clinics need to be fully integrated into the broader health care system to improve overall coordination of care.     

Medicaid physician payment reform: using the Medicare Fee Schedule for Medicaid payments.

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this article is to provide estimates of the costs of basing Medicaid physician payment levels on the new resource-based Medicare Fee Schedule. Two possible policy options are considered: setting all Medicaid physician fees at the Medicare Fee Schedule level and setting only office visit fees at the new Medicare levels. METHODS. Data on Medicaid physician fees, use patterns, and the Medicare Fee Schedule are used to develop state-level estimates of expenditure changes under each option. RESULTS. Setting Medicaid rates at the Medicare Fee Schedule level could increase expenditures by $3.2 to $4.1 billion nationally; the other option would result in substantially lower increases in expenditures. Because of the current variations in Medicaid physician fees and in the breadth of eligibility across states, the cost of adopting the Medicare Fee Schedule varies considerably among states. CONCLUSIONS. Adopting the new Medicare Fee Schedule for Medicaid payments, proposed by policy-makers as a way to increase access to appropriate medical care, could double physician expenditures in some states. Adoption of more limited versions of the fee schedule might achieve some access gains at lower costs.     

Do Medicaid benefit expansions have teeth? The effect of Medicaid adult dental coverage on the use of dental services and oral health

This article examines the effect of Medicaid adult dental coverage on use of dental care and dental health outcomes using state-level variation in dental coverage during 2000–2012. Our findings imply that dental coverage is associated with an increase in the likelihood of a recent dental visit, with the size of the effect increasing with Medicaid payment rates to dentists, and a reduction in the likelihood of untreated dental caries. We are among the first to detect an effect of Medicaid coverage on a clinical health outcome other than mortality. These findings may have implications for states expanding Medicaid coverage to adults with incomes of up to 138% of the federal poverty threshold under the Affordable Care Act as most of these states offer an adult dental benefit.     

Rethinking Medicaid Coverage and Payment Policy to Promote High Value Care: The Case of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception

Context

Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is the most effective reversible method to prevent unplanned pregnancies. Variability in state-level policies and the high cost of LARC could create substantial inconsistencies in Medicaid coverage, despite federal guidance aimed at enhancing broad access. This study surveyed state Medicaid payment policies and outreach activities related to LARC to explore the scope of services covered.

Medicare Part B reimbursement and the perceived quality of physician care

The maximum amount physicians can charge Medicare patients for Part B services depends on Medicare reimbursement rates and on federal and state restrictions regarding balance billing. This study evaluates whether Part B payment rates, state restrictions on balance billing beyond the federal limit, and physician balance billing influence how beneficiaries rate the quality of their doctor’s care. Using nationally representative data from the 2001 to 2003 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, this paper finds strong evidence that Medicare reimbursement rates, and state balance billing restrictions influence a wide range of perceived care quality measures. Lower Medicare reimbursement and restrictions on physicians’ ability to balance bill significantly reduce the perceived quality of care under Part B.     

Implementing evidence-based medicine through medicare coverage decisions

Management of technology diffusion to improve quality and constrain spending in health care remains an elusive goal. Along with efforts to improve the quality of evidence, providers and payers must ensure that evidence actually effects changes in practice. Medicare coverage policies grant, limit, and condition payment based on evidentiary standards. This paper identifies the sizable barriers to implementation of evidence-based medicine in Medicare and proposes policy solutions to address them.     

Medicare physician payment changes: impact on physicians and beneficiaries

The Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 generally reduced Medicare payments for surgical services while increasing them for other services. Concern about implications of these fee reductions prompted the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to sponsor a national survey of physicians to learn their views on Medicare payment and whether access to care has changed for Medicare beneficiaries. Results suggest that beneficiaries' access to care has not declined. While physicians are concerned about Medicare reimbursement, they are more concerned about reimbursement from managed care plans and Medicaid. Continued monitoring will be important to detect any emerging access problems accompanying upcoming payment reductions.     

Health care reform and equity: promise, pitfalls, and prescriptions

The United States has made little progress during the past decade in addressing health care disparities. Recent health care reforms offer an historic opportunity to create a more equitable health care system. Key elements of health care reform relevant to promoting equity include access, support for primary care, enhanced health information technology, new payment models, a national quality strategy informed by research, and federal requirements for health care disparity monitoring. With effective implementation, improved alignment of resources with patient needs, and most importantly, revitalization of primary care, these reforms could measurably improve equity.     

Patients' rights to care under Clinton's Health Security Act: the structure of reform.

Like most reform proposals, President Clinton's proposed Health Security Act offers universal access to care but does not significantly alter the nature of patients' legal rights to services. The act would create a system of delegated federal regulation in which the states would act like federal administrative agencies to carry out reform. To achieve uniform, universal coverage, the act would establish a form of mandatory health insurance, with federal law controlling the minimum services to which everyone would be entitled. Because there is no constitutionally protected right to health care and no independent constitutional standard for judging what insurance benefits are appropriate, the federal government would retain considerable freedom to decide what services would and would not be covered. If specific benefits are necessary for patients, they will have to be stated in the legislation that produces reform.     

State variations in Medicare expenditures.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined variations in Medicare expenditures across states. METHODS: 1992 data on average Medicare expenditures per enrollee, users of services per 1000 enrollees, service use per user, and payment per unit of service were compared across states for various services. Weighted least squares regression analysis was employed to examine total Medicare expenditures per enrollee by state. RESULTS: Variation in Medicare expenditures across states is driven more by average number of service users per 1000 enrollees and average service units per user than by average payment per service unit. Medicare expenditures per enrollee by state are primarily a function of Medicare HMO penetration rate (P = .000), urban area (P = .001), hospital bed supply (P = .005), elderly mortality rate (P = .012), Medicare physician assignment rate (P = .026), percentage of primary care practitioners (P = .042), and interactions between urban elderly and percentage of primary care physicians (P = .005) and Black elderly and nursing home bed supply (P = .012). CONCLUSIONS: Before sweeping Medicare cuts are undertaken or excessive reliance on managed care occurs, attention should be focused on the current disproportionate distribution of expenditures across states.