Has Access and Quality Improved under Michigan Medicaid Managed Care as Measured by Patient Satisfaction Surveys?

Abstract

Managed Care has become a major player in the health care industry. Employers, looking to save health care costs, were the initial driving force. The financial benefits have been documented, but quality of care and access have been debated. The private sector of health care initially became involved, however the public sector, particularly Medicaid has followed. The push in the public sector has also been to save money, and many Medicaid recipients are being mandated to join a managed care plan. However, consumers, employers and public policymakers all want to assure that quality of care and access to care are not sacrificed. Thus, quality and access are being monitored under managed care. One method utilized to assess quality and access is the patient satisfaction survey. Medicaid patient satisfaction surveys reviewed in Michigan from 1988-1998, were utilized to gather data on changes in quality and access. Improvement I quality and access could not be documented when utilizing this method.