Do commercial managed care members rate their health plans differently than Medicaid managed care members?

Objective: To determine if members of commercial managed care and Medicaid managed care rate the experience with their health plans differently.

Data Sources: Data from both commercial and Medicaid Consumer Assessment of Health Plan Surveys (CAHPS) in New York State.

Study Design: Regression models were used to determine the effect of population (commercial or Medicaid) on a member's rating of their health plan, controlling for health status, age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, number of office visits, and place of residence.

Data Collection: Managed care plans are required to submit to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) results of the annual commercial CAHPS survey. The NYSDOH conducted a survey of Medicaid enrollees using Medicaid CAHPS.

Principal Findings: Medicaid managed care members in excellent or very good health rate their health plan higher than commercial members in excellent or very good health. There is no difference in health plan rating for commercial and Medicaid members in good, fair, or poor health. Older, less educated, black, and Hispanic members who live outside New York City are more likely to rate their managed care plan higher.

Conclusions: Medicaid members rating of their health care equals or exceeds ratings by commercial members.