Florida's Medicaid experiment continues to draw attention

News outlets report on the state's effort to shift care for Medicaid enrollees to managed care and how this move will impact specific populations such as pregnant women.

The New York Times: In Florida, HMO's Would Treat Medicaid Patients
A crucial experiment in the future of Medicaid is playing out in Florida, where both houses of the Legislature are vying to find ways to drastically cut costs, manage care and reduce waste and fraud. The cuts and changes being sought by the Republican-led Legislature and encouraged by the new Republican governor, Rick Scott, a wealthy former hospital company executive, are deeper than those in many other states (Alvarez, 4/27).

See previous KHN story: Insurers Clash With Health Providers As States Expand Medicaid Managed Care (Galewitz, 4/26).

Health News Florida: Mothers-To-Be To See Medicaid Change
Waddling into the doctor's office at eight months pregnant, two kids in tow, Danielle Johnson fully expected to see her obstetrician. ... Suddenly the receptionist called her name. "I'm sorry, but your insurance has been switched," she said. "Now you're on First Coast, and we don't take (that)." What happened to Johnson is worth a listen, because she lives in Duval County, one of the five test sites for a Medicaid experiment that moves enrollees into HMOs or similar managed-care networks (Davis, 4/27).