• Kevin H Nguyen, Ira B Wilson, Anya R Wallack, and Amal N Trivedi.
• Brown University School of Public Health, 121 S Main St, 7th Fl, Providence, RI 02903. Email: kevin_nguyen2@brown.edu.
• Am J Manag Care. 2022 Aug 1; 28 (8): 390396390-396.

ObjectivesTo examine changes in plan composition and enrollee experience associated with Medicaid expansion among Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) enrollees.Study DesignUsing 2012-2018 Adult Medicaid Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys, we estimated changes in MCO enrollee characteristics and 4 outcomes: having access to needed care, having a personal doctor, having timely access to a checkup, and having timely access to specialty care.MethodsWe estimated multivariable linear probability models comparing pre- vs postexpansion changes in expansion vs nonexpansion states. The postexpansion period was modeled as an event-study regression to account for changes over time. The coefficient of interest was a Medicaid expansion-by-year term.ResultsMedicaid expansion was associated with statistically significant decreases in the proportion of female enrollees (-8.4 percentage points [PP]; P < .01) and increases in the proportion of enrollees who were aged 55 to 64 years (6.8 PP; P < .01) and were non-Hispanic White (4.4 PP; P < .01). Relative to enrollees in nonexpansion states, MCO enrollees in expansion states were significantly less likely to report access to a personal doctor (-1.6 PP; 95% CI, -3.0 to -0.1 PP) and less likely to report timely access to specialty care (-2.1 PP; 95% CI, -3.4 to -0.8 PP; P < .01) in the first year after expansion. Differences were not statistically significant by the second year post expansion. There were not significant changes in the other 2 outcomes.ConclusionsState policy makers may need to account for the role that Medicaid expansion may have in changing Medicaid MCO enrollee composition to prevent unfair penalization on performance metrics.

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