Study: Refining managed care could control gov’t costs for Medicaid in R.I.

MEDICAID SPENDING per enrollee was greater in Rhode Island than in Connecticut and Massachusetts in 2011. It also was higher than the national average, according to a report by the College & University Research Collaborative. / COURTESY THE COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE
MEDICAID SPENDING per enrollee was greater in Rhode Island than in Connecticut and Massachusetts in 2011. It also was higher than the national average, according to a report by the College & University Research Collaborative. / COURTESY THE COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE

PROVIDENCE – A study released Tuesday on the “Impact of Expanding Medicaid” suggests refinements to managed care may be a means of controlling government costs for Medicaid in Rhode Island.
One of 12 reports on varying topics to be launched this year by the College & University Research Collaborative, this study, conducted by Liam Malloy and Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, both from the University of Rhode Island, examined the economic effect of expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in the lower 48 states between 1988 and 2010. Other aspects of the research covered more recent years.
Broadly, findings from analyzed data show that enrollment by working age adults in government-sponsored programs – Medicaid, Medicare and military health plans – do increase economic growth.
At the same time, while researchers estimate a 1-percentage-point increase in public coverage yields a 0.08 percentage point increase in annual real GDP growth, there is not a corresponding significant impact to economic growth based on private coverage for the working-age population, the study says.
Rhode Island is “on the right path” in joining 27 other states to expand Medicaid coverage, although it spends more than other states per enrollee, which can be a drag on job growth, the report says.
Research also shows that investing in managed care has been demonstrated to help reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits in New Jersey and Massachusetts, thereby reducing overall costs.
“Decreasing the amount spent per person on health care would provide an economic opportunity for Rhode Island to fully harness the economic benefits of expanding health care insurance coverage and address the state’s high unemployment rate,” researchers say.
The study also compares Rhode Island with Massachusetts, which decreased its uninsured rate from 10 percent in 2004 to 4 percent by 2012 by expanding Medicaid eligibility and increasing enrollment – while at the same time reducing per person Medicaid spending from $9,600 to $7,500.
“Rhode Island has begun to reduce its costs per Medicaid enrollee at a rate of about 1.5 percent from 2009 to 2013,” researchers note. “If the state can continue to make strides in expanding coverage and cutting costs, it can improve the health of its citizens and grow the economy.”
Over the next few weeks, the collaborative will be sharing the findings from 11 more research projects that cover issues related to the areas of workforce, manufacturing, regional competitiveness and infrastructure, said Amber Caulkins, program director for the collaborative.
The collaborative will also launch a Public Policy Speaker Series: “Research Into Action,” on March 24 at 8:30 a.m. at the Rhode Island Foundation, the first in a three-part series. Besides Malloy and Pearson-Merkowitz, other covered research will include “The Road to Better Bridges: Strategies for Maintaining Infrastructure,” (Nicole Martino of Roger Williams University) and “Rhode Island Unemployment: Is There a Labor Market Mismatch?” (Neil Mehrotra, Brown University.)
The collaborative is a statewide public/private partnership of Rhode Island’s 11 colleges and universities that connects public policy and academic research. Its mission is to increase the use of nonpartisan academic research in policy-making and provide an evidence-based foundation for government decision-making in Rhode Island.

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