Medicaid Privatization: Has the Invisible Hand Led Us Astray?

Abstract

Medicaid Privatization: Has the Invisible Hand Led Us Astray? presents timely questions regarding our nation’s healthcare safety-net: (1) What are the consequences when states outsource the administration of Medicaid to private organizations with a profit motive?; (2) Can returning administrative responsibility back to state governments restore any losses to quality and equity experienced by previously privatized public programs?; and (3) Is it time to abandon Medicaid managed care altogether for state-operated fee-for-service or other alternative administrative arrangements?