Evaluation of Iowa's Medicaid Managed Care Program: The Consumer Perspective - Results of the 2013 Survey of Iowa Medicaid Managed Care Enrollees

As part of the ongoing quality assurance activities of Iowa’s Medicaid Managed Care Program, the Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) has been contracting with researchers at The University of Iowa Public Policy Center to conduct a survey of adults and children enrolled in the Iowa Medicaid managed care plans. In 2013, enrollees from Regular Medicaid (herein referred to as Fee-for-service, FFS), the Medicaid Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), and MediPASS in Iowa were surveyed. The HMO enrollees are served through the Meridian Health program, which works under a contract with the IME. The MediPASS program, the primary care case management (PCCM) model managed care program, is operated by the IME rather than contracted to a private vendor. In MediPASS, enrollees have the opportunity to choose a primary care physician who acts as their primary care case manager; the identified primary care physician then approves use of specialty and emergency services. As of April 1, 2013 (when the sample was drawn), there were 47,410 Iowans enrolled in FFS, 8,564 Iowans enrolled in the HMO, and 159,088 Iowans enrolled in MediPASS who met the survey criteria of being Medicaid eligible for at least 6 months.