Insurance industry: States, feds could save by enrolling dual eligibles in managed care

A new paper from the insurance industry’s trade association concludes that placing the 9 million people who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid into managed care could save as much as $150 billion during the next 10 years (Source: “Health plans say they can save money on dual eligibles,” American Medical News, Oct. 6, 2011).

The white paper (pdf, 16 pages) was written by Ken Thorpe, a professor of health policy and management at Emory University in Atlanta.

The paper included a proposal to auto-enroll all dual-eligibles into managed care, then use state and federal funds to pay health plans for a coordinated care program, which would require plans to include individualized care plans, medication management, centralized medical records and coordination between primary and specialty physicians.

In Ohio, 10.4 percent of Medicaid enrollees are dual eligibles, yet they account for 34.4 percent of total Medicaid spending.