This white paper uses a 2003 survey of Medi-Cal managed care providers to examine the financial stability of these organizations and review the clinical initiatives they are pursuing.
The Role of Provider Organizations in Medi-Cal Managed Care (369 K)
This report presents the findings from a 2003 survey of medical groups, independent practice associations, community clinics, and hospital-based delivery systems serving Medi-Cal managed care beneficiaries. It reviews the scale and scope of these organizations; their investments in information technology; self-reported measures of profitability; and interest in expanding or decreasing the number of their Medi-Cal patients.
Emphasis is placed on the initiatives by these organizations to improve the quality of primary care services, including preventive programs for children and adolescents and care management programs for patients with asthma and diabetes; measure and improve patient satisfaction; and improve access to care by decreasing wait times and meeting the transportation and language needs of their patients. The report documents the external incentives faced by provider organizations to improve care, and the internal incentives directed by these organizations to their individual physicians.