Editing Medicaid (section)

== Features ==
Beginning in the 1980s, many states received waivers from the federal government to create [[Medicaid managed care]] programs. Under managed care, Medicaid recipients are enrolled in a private health plan, which receives a fixed monthly premium from the state. The health plan is then responsible for providing for all or most of the recipient's healthcare needs. Today, all but a few states use managed care to provide coverage to a significant proportion of Medicaid enrollees. As of 2014, 26 states have contracts with [[Managed Care Organization|managed care organizations]] (MCOs) to deliver long-term care for the elderly and individuals with disabilities. The states pay a monthly capitated rate per member to the MCOs, which in turn provide comprehensive care and accept the risk of managing total costs.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality |url=https://innovations.ahrq.gov/perspectives/states-turn-managed-care-constrain-medicaid-long-term-care-costs |title=States Turn to Managed Care To Constrain Medicaid Long-Term Care Costs |date=April 9, 2014 |access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref> Nationwide, roughly 80% of Medicaid enrollees are enrolled in managed care plans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Delivery-Systems/Managed-Care/Managed-Care-site.html|title=Managed Care|publisher=medicaid.gov|language=en-us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220125540/https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/delivery-systems/managed-care/managed-care-site.html|archive-date=2016-02-20|url-status=dead|access-date=2015-12-10}}</ref> Core eligibility groups of low-income families are most likely to be enrolled in managed care, while the "aged" and "disabled" eligibility groups more often remain in traditional "[[fee for service]]" Medicaid.

Because service level costs vary depending on the care and needs of the enrolled, a cost per person average is only a rough measure of actual cost of care. The annual cost of care will vary state to state depending on state approved Medicaid benefits, as well as the state specific care costs. A 2014 [[Kaiser Family Foundation]] report estimates the national average per capita annual cost of Medicaid services for children to be $2,577, adults to be $3,278, persons with disabilities to be $16,859, aged persons (65+) to be $13,063, and all Medicaid enrollees to be $5,736.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-06-09|title=Medicaid Spending per Enrollee (Full or Partial Benefit)|url=https://www.kff.org/medicaid/state-indicator/medicaid-spending-per-enrollee/|access-date=2021-02-14|website=KFF|language=en-US}}</ref>