Missouri Medicaid Program: The A Graphical Profile

Abstract

This report provides a graphical summary of the Missouri Medicaid program. It is intended to provide background information of the policy issues being considered by the Missouri Medicaid Reform Commission. The report was compiled by a group of researchers from several centers at the University of Missouri-Columbia (see Acknowledgements). Medicaid at the national level is summarized first, and then the report describes Missouri Medicaid. The types of health care services, expenditure levels, and categories of participants are presented. Health care service types are summarized with a focus on overall expenditure levels. Participants are summarized into general enrollment groups: Children, Adults, Blind and Disabled, Elderly, and Other. The interrelationships among services, expenditures and participants are explored using current data and historical trends. County level maps display these patterns for the state. Estimates of the effect of recent changes to the Missouri Medicaid Program are provided. The report uses the most current summary information available and many FY2005 charts are included. However, for some graphics, it was necessary to use older data to achieve a consistent frame of reference. Some Medicaid service types, particularly managed care, are confounded because they include portions of other specific services, such as physician services that also are reported independently. Substantial Medicaid claims data containing additional information about the characteristics of participants, services, and expenditures are being made available for summarization and analyses. We anticipate extending the description of the Missouri Medicaid program with future analyses of these more detailed data.