Medicaid and Managed Care

Abstract

The sharp divide between Democrats and Republicans on most major health policy issues largely disappears when the subject turns to how federal and state governments should provide medical care to the vulnerable populations that are eligible for Medicaid coverage. Figures as politically disparate as President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), as well as most of the nation's governors, have concluded that states should have the flexibility to enroll many of Medicaid's more than 32 million beneficiaries in managed-care plans. They believe such plans hold the greatest potential for stemming the rapid growth of Medicaid expenditures and for . . .