Choice of Health Plan: Implications for Access and Satisfaction

In this article, the authors examine why low-income persons choose a managed care plan and the effects of choice on access and satisfaction, using data from the 1995-96 Kaiser/Commonwealth Five-State Low-Income Survey. Two-thirds of those choosing a managed care plan cited costs or benefits as their primary reason. Logistic regressions indicate that choice of plan had a neutral or positive effect on access and satisfaction. Medicaid enrollees with choice were less likely than those without to have difficulty obtaining particular services, more likely to rate plan quality highly, and less likely to report major problems with plan rules.