Characteristics of Special Needs Medicaid Populations

The nonelderly Medicaid population with special health care needs is being shifted into managed care in many states. To enhance policymakers' understanding of this important and vulnerable group, we analyzed the characteristics of nonelderly Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic or disabling conditions living in California, Georgia, Kansas, and New Jersey.

Findings include the following:

• Nonelderly Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic or disabling conditions have diverse sets of diagnoses. Cardiovascular and psychiatric problems are common in adults. Children tended to have pulmonary, psychiatric, gastrointestinal, and nervous system problems.
• Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic or disabling conditions enter the system in different ways, rather than solely through eligibility for SSI.
• As a group, these Medicaid beneficiaries use health and health-related services frequently and intensely. As a result, their care is, on average, much more costly relative to the care required by other beneficiaries. SSI-eligible beneficiaries' care is the most costly.

The study was funded by the Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.

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