Medicaid is a publicly funded program that provides health insurance coverage for low-income parents, children, individuals with disabilities and elders. This sfety-net program for Colorado's most vulnerable residents is under extreme financial strain as costs and enrollment increase while state funding struggles to keep pace.
The growth rate of Medicaid costs must be contained for the program to be sustainable in Colorado and across the nation. At the same time, providing care for these populations can prevent the need for more expensive care later.
As policy leaders continue the important but challenging task of retooling Medicaid for a new era, understanding basic concepts and sharing new strategies are imperative.
This report is an overview of how Medicaid works in Colorado, the traditional mechanisms for managing its cost, and innovative approaches being tested to deliver more coordinated and patient-centered care. Finally, Medicaid cost-containment approaches in other states are summarized.