In July 2021, almost 1.6 million Medicaid beneficiaries in North Carolina were transitioned from the fee-for-service system to managed care and enrolled in prepaid health plans. The new managed care program is designed to better address beneficiaries’ social needs and reduce health care disparities. Yet, a major change in how health care is managed and paid for could disrupt, at least initially, access to and quality of care for Medicaid beneficiaries.
The Urban Institute, with funding from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, is examining the managed care implementation and its effects on beneficiaries, providers, and the Medicaid program. This includes establishing baseline health outcomes for pregnant or postpartum women to identify opportunities for improving maternity care and allow for future assessment of the transition’s impact on maternal health outcomes. Urban researchers are also studying community-based approaches to improving maternal and infant health for people served by the North Carolina Medicaid program.
In addition, the Urban team is analyzing racial and ethnic disparities in children’s health status and access to quality pediatric care before the managed care implementation, thus allowing future studies of the impacts of the Medicaid managed-care transition on children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP in North Carolina.
Urban will publish more research and case studies in the coming months.
