Posted on May 6, 2010 15:26
Categories: Medicaid | Medicare | State and Local
Topics: Access/Barriers | Cost-effectiveness | Integrated Health | Managed Care | Medicaid | Medicare | Providers | Spending | Uninsured
On April 15, UnitedHealth Group released a report projecting that $366 billion could be saved through the modernization of Medicaid, of which $149 billion would be saved by the states. The report suggests that this can be achieved primarily through broader use of coordinated care techniques, increased use of managed care for Medicaid beneficiaries with long-term care needs, and modernization of Medicaid’s administrative and transactional processes. The report also suggests that Medicaid reimbursement rates be permanently raised to equal those of Medicare, citing a survey UnitedHealth conducted of primary care physicians (PCPs) that found that 67 percent of PCPs believe new Medicaid beneficiaries will have difficulty finding a PCP if the program is not reformed.
From the report:
Medicaid is a critical safety net program for low-income Americans, and is one of the nation’s largest entitlement programs. It is about to expand significantly both in numbers of beneficiaries and in size of expenditures, partly as a result of new federal health reform legislation, and partly because of the growing number of seniors who rely on Medicaid for their long-term care. All this comes at a time when states’ budgets are under great pressure, with no easy fiscal solutions in sight.
Full report: Coverage for Consumers, Savings for States: Options for Modernizing Medicaid
(PDF | 742.25 KB)
UnitedHealth Group. (2010). Coverage for consumers, savings for states: options for modernizing Medicaid.
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