Question: Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) vary from state to state. Moreover, like all third-party payers, the MCOs operate in healthcare's constantly changing environment. Kaiser Family Foundation tracks and reports sociodemographic and third-party payer data.
Initial Post: Go to the organization's website: https://www.statehealthfacts.org and click Health Insurance and Managed Care.
Answer the following questions:
1. What is the percentage of HMO penetration of your state?
2. What is the percentage of HMO penetration of a neighboring state?
3. What is the percentage of HMO penetration for the United States?
4. How do these percentages compare?
5. Share a news story about managed care in your state. Categorize the story as a positive, negative, or neutral portrayal of managed care.
6. Consider tendencies of news media. Do positive stories get as much coverage?