Studies from University of Washington Medical Center Provide New Data on Managed Care (The Impact of Payment Reform on Medicaid Access and Quality: A National Survey of Physicians): Managed Care

2026 FEB 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Data detailed on Managed Care have been presented. According to news reporting originating in Seattle, Washington, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Addressing health inequity should involve improving access and quality of care for individuals with low income. In the United States, programs that involve accountable care incentives and broader risk adjustment are poised to help address these issues.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Washington Medical Center, “However, there is limited understanding of perspectives among physicians as key stakeholders in determining access and quality. The authors surveyed physicians about how they perceived accountable care incentives and broader risk adjustment (greater inclusion of clinical, social, and behavioral risk factors) would impact access and quality for patients with low income insured through Medicaid. Low Medicaid reimbursement rates and inadequate adjustment for patients’ clinical, social, and behavioral risk factors were major factors why physicians reported not seeing Medicaid patients in their clinical practices. Many physicians believed that accountable care incentives and changes in risk adjustment would help facilitate higher quality of care for Medicaid patients, while the minority of physicians believed that accountable care organizations could ultimately improve the value of care beyond managed care organizations. Policymakers could incorporate behavioral, social, and equity-related factors into risk adjustment and consider ways to incorporate accountable care incentives into existing and new entities in Medicaid. The majority of physicians believed that the care of Medicaid patients would improve under accountable care incentives and broader risk adjustment.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Understanding physician perspectives is important for contextualizing policy about how payment reforms could affect access and quality of care for Medicaid patients.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: The Impact of Payment Reform on Medicaid Access and Quality: A National Survey of Physicians. The Permanente Journal, 2025;29(2):41-47.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Joseph H. Joo, Dept. of Medicine, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA, United States. Additional authors for this research include Jubi Yl Lin, Lingmei Zhou, Rachna Goswami and Joshua M. Liao.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)