Research from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Yields New Findings on Managed Care (Systematic Review of Managed Care Medicaid Outcomes Versus Fee-for-Service Medicaid Outcomes for Youth in Foster Care): Managed Care

2026 JAN 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Managed Care is the subject of a report. According to news reporting out of Chicago, Illinois, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Transitioning foster care children from fee-for-service (FFS) Medicaid to Medicaid managed care (MMC) plans is increasingly common, yet research on the impact of such transitions is limited. This systematic review addresses this gap by synthesizing evidence on the effects of transitioning foster care children from FFS to MMC on healthcare utilization and costs.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, “Eligibility criteria included peer-reviewed articles on youth in foster care in the United States, aged 0-18 years, comparing selected outcomes under FFS vs. MMC. The outcomes of interest included behavioral, dental, vision, and well-child care. The databases searched were MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library (Wiley), APA PsycINFO (Ebsco), Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest), and Web of Science (Clarivate). A qualitative synthesis of articles meeting the inclusion criteria was performed. Five articles met the inclusion criteria. Three articles yielded mixed findings regarding behavioral healthcare, which was evaluated as having low certainty of evidence. Two articles on well-child visits indicate significant changes when transitioning youth from FFS to MMC coverage, with varied impacts based on how well-child visits were defined and rated moderate certainty of evidence. No articles examined dental or vision outcomes. Results suggest a shortage of empirical evidence on the effects of transitioning from FFS to MMC for children in foster care.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Future research should describe insurance benefits packages in greater detail, as not all FFS or MMC programs are the same and continue to study the impacts of such transitions on healthcare utilization and outcomes for this vulnerable group.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Systematic Review of Managed Care Medicaid Outcomes Versus Fee-for-Service Medicaid Outcomes for Youth in Foster Care. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 2026. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research can be contacted at: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Emma R. Breen, Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Mental Health Services and Policy Program, 710 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60611, United States. Additional authors for this research include Nosherwan Yasin, Zhidi Luo, Annie B. Wescott and Richard A. Epstein.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-025-09987-7. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research is: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States.

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