Enrollment in managed Medicaid plans on the rise

Tough economic times are driving people both in and out of Medicaid programs. Medicaid enrollment climbs as individuals deal with loss of insurance through employment channels. Then, state legislators challenged with making budget cuts, are forced to reduce Medicaid rosters to balance budgets. Many states are increasing their use of care management strategies to help rein in costly Medicaid programs. However, it is often difficult to assess cost savings and total enrollment in Medicaid programs nationwide. Working with data reported by state regulators to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and by insurers through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) confirmed U.S. enrollment in managed Medicaid plans is on the rise. Total membership grew by 11% from June 2008 to June 2009, reaching more than 33.6 million. Furthermore, current estimates for 2010 show enrollment up an additional 5% to 35 million.

According to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau nearly 47.8 million people were enrolled in Medicaid programs in 2009, and at that time, roughly 33.6 million (70%) were covered by comprehensive Medicaid managed care programs based on a new analysis by Mark Farrah Associates. Because individual states operate their own Medicaid programs, this segment of the health insurance market has not become heavily concentrated in national companies. However, at least seven public companies, such as Centene, Molina Health and UnitedHealthcare, contract with Medicaid agencies to provide managed care services. Five of these public companies enrolled more than 1 million Medicaid members as of 2Q10.

In the latest Healthcare Business Strategy report, MFA aggregated and analyzed enrollment and other data for managed Medicaid plans nationwide. To read the full text of "Managed Medicaid Enrollment Rising," visit the Healthcare Business Strategy library on Mark Farrah Associates' website www.markfarrah.com.