Managed Care Saved Ohio Taxpayers $4.4B
COLUMBUS – Ohio’s managed care program is saving the state Medicaid program billions of dollars while improving the quality of patient care, estimates Wakely, an actuarial firm.
Wakely analyzed state data to determine managed care saved taxpayers $4.4 billion over two years compared to what would have been spent on a traditional fee-for-service program, according to the Transforming Ohio Medicaid Through Managed Care: Driving Quality, Cost Savings and Innovation report commissioned by the Ohio Association of Health Plans.
“Ohio has increased accountability, taxpayer value, member satisfaction and innovation by leveraging private-public partnerships through managed care for Medicaid,” said OAHP President and CEO Miranda Motter. “As we work with stakeholders to continually improve our health care system, it is incredibly important to employ data to guide and advance strategies to enhance the quality and affordability of healthcare for Ohioans. We look forward to working with the DeWine administration, policymakers and stakeholders to drive further program improvements. Managed care plans are improving the health of 2.5 million Ohioans while saving taxpayers’ money.”
Highlights of Transforming Ohio Medicaid Through Managed Care include:
- In 2016 and 2017, the state paid 16.8% less in premiums ($4.4 billion) to Medicaid managed care plans than it would have paid to through a fee-for-service system during that same period.
- Ohio’s Medicaid managed care plans improved performance on National Committee for Quality Assurance metrics and scored higher than both the national and large state subgroup averages.
- Managed care plans decreased unnecessary emergency department utilization by healthy adults from 2017 to 2018.
- Ohio Medicaid is saving approximately $2.4 million a month as Ohioans chose to move from a nursing home facility to a home and community-based setting through MyCare Ohio – the state’s pilot program for managed care long-term and supports services.
The full report is available here.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
