Medicaid managed care and working-age beneficiaries with disabilities and chronic illnesses

Even after a decade of study, there are still many questions about how working-age adults with disabilities or chronic illnesses are faring in Medicaid managed care. This article draws from recent research to examine two critical issues: the need for better outcome measures specific to this population and the importance of evaluations that accurately estimate program effects, despite continued policy change, considerable differences among States, and extreme population diversity. The authors outline a research agenda that will help policymakers develop a more precise sense of how managed care practices affect different subgroups of working-age adults with disabilities and chronic illnesses and how practices could be altered to improve Medicaid's ability to meet their needs.