Public Medi-Cal Plans Outscoring Commercial

[Startraveler]

California's 13 publicly run Medi-Cal managed care plans are attracting more enrollees and demonstrating higher quality than commercial Medi-Cal plans or fee-for-service options, according to a new study by the Pacific Health Consulting Group, Payers & Providers reports.

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Some interesting news today about managed care in California's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. The key points:

The study also notes that about 70% of Medi-Cal beneficiaries choose the public plan in counties where a public option competes with a commercial one.

The study also found that public Medi-Cal managed care plans scored from 20% to 56% higher than commercial plans on the 2008 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set measures.

In addition, the report found that the cost of providing care was 5% lower for public Medi-Cal plans compared with commercial ones. The study estimates that public plans have helped reduce state and federal spending by about $2 billion over the past 10 years (Payers & Providers, 3/4).