The Obama administration tightened rules for private insurance plans that administer most Medicaid benefits for the poor, limiting profits, easing enrollment and requiring minimum levels of participating doctors. For consumers the most visible change may eventually be quality ratings intended to reflect Medicaid plans’ health results and customer experiences. The administration agreed to move slowly on such a sensitive industry issue, saying it would develop the scores over several years. But the sweeping regulation, the biggest for Medicaid managed care in a decade, changes many aspects of how UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and other large contractors who administer care for some of the most vulnerable patients do business.
For the article from Kaiser Health News, click here.
