AHCPR Finds Medicaid Managed Care Lagging in Rural Counties

OPEN MINDS, The Behavioral Health & Social Service Industry Analyst Industry News Medicaid enrollees in slightly over one half of all rural counties in the United States were covered by some type of Medicaid, managed care in early 1997, compared with nearly three-fourth of urban counties, according to a study entitled "Medicaid Managed Care Programs in Rural Areas: A Fifty State Overview." The study found that mandatory, fully capitated programs are less common in rural counties than in urban ones ( 10% versus 23%), although seven states do have statewide, mandatory, fully-capitated Medicaid programs. Rural counties are also less . . .