HCFO Findings Brief: Managed Care for Children in Medicaid: Some Good News, but Not a Cure-All

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Impressed by the successes of managed care in the private sector, many states in the 1990s began to move their Medicaid populations from fee-for-service (FFS) into managed care. They hoped to not only control costs, but also improve access to care, utilization, and patient satisfaction. Between 1996 and 1998, the number of Medicaid recipients covered by managed care plans grew by nearly 3.5 million, from 40 percent of all recipients to nearly 54 percent. Despite this growth, little is known about the effects of Medicaid managed care on health care access and use.