HRA conducted two evaluations of one of the first phases of Medicaid expansion in California: the transition of seniors and people with disabilities to Medi-Cal managed care.

In one study, HRA researchers worked in collaboration with the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the California HealthCare Foundation to conduct a telephone survey assessing the experiences of beneficiaries who were recently transitioned. (For more information, see project description for Evaluating the Transition of Seniors and Persons with Disabilities to Mandatory Medi-Cal Managed Care: Telephone Survey and Focus Groups for details).

The California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) recently hosted a Sacramento briefing about this, where the research team presented preliminary findings from the survey examining the transition experiences of beneficiaries. Panelists discussed findings on the notification process and choice of health plan, continuity of and access to primary and specialty care, and the overall beneficiary experience. For more information (including slides and video), link to the CHCF web page http://www.chcf.org/events/2013/briefing-spd-transition-managed-care.

In another study, HRA researchers surveyed health plans, providers and community based organizations that serve SPD to examine the impact the transition of SPD beneficiaries had on their organizational resources and the strategies they used to address these challenges (funded by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured).

A public briefing stemming from this study was held recently in Washington, D.C. ("Medicaid Managed Care in the Era of Health Reform," in Washington D.C. on June 25, 2013.

See more information at http://kff.org/medicaid/event/june-25-briefing-medicaid-managed-care-in-the-era-of-health-reform/.