Key Takeaways
- Enrollment in Medicaid health plans continues to grow, with approximately 42 million beneficiaries (60% of all Medicaid beneficiaries) enrolled in these plans as of July 2014.
- Thirty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had Medicaid health plan programs in place in 2014 and states are increasingly partnering with Medicaid health plans to address the needs of vulnerable populations.
- Medicaid health plans have demonstrated success in improving care for Medicaid beneficiaries in a cost-effective manner and are uniquely positioned to help the program and the beneficiaries it serves meet future challenges.
Background
Of the 62.2 million Medicaid beneficiaries nationwide, 56.3 percent were enrolled in a risk-based Medicaid health plan that has broad benefit coverage as of July 1, 2013. This Brief summarizes trends in enrollment and Medicaid health plan participation in state Medicaid programs and describes how these plans are working with states to improve care for the beneficiaries they serve.