What Managed Care is Not

Managed Care is not Obamacare or the Private Option. It is not a plan to reduce the number of Arkansas residents covered by insurance, nor is it a plan to increase that number. Managed Care is not, or should not be, a partisan issue. With red and blue states all across the country implementing Managed Care coordination of Medicaid services, there is support on both sides of the aisle to modernize Medicaid delivery through Managed Care. 

In the turbulent political climate of a presidential election season, it is easy to cast every issue as belonging to one party or another, as benefitting one constituency or another. Managed Care is no such issue. The aim of moving Arkansas from a traditional, government-run Medicaid system to a more efficient Managed Care system is all about shifting risks from taxpayers to private companies who deal in such risks on a daily basis and have the tools navigate these waters while still providing a better quality of care for patients.  

Providing better care at a better price benefits every Arkansas resident, whether they are a Medicaid recipient or a taxpayer. The alternative is status quo management of the current Medicaid system, which has consistently failed to implement best practices, reduce overutilization of high-cost services, or effectively manage Medicaid costs. 

The move to Managed Care requires no disloyalty to any political encampment or extension of the party line. Managed Care just makes sense, period. Its aim is to reduce taxpayer costs while providing better care to recipients. It’s not every day that such obvious win/win situations come along. It’s time to look at the big picture and embrace Managed Care for Arkansas Medicaid.