Capitated managed care plans, which deliver medical services for a fixed per-person fee, are an increasingly common part of Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for certain low-income individuals, including adults & children in families, & aged, blind, & disabled people. This report: examines the implications of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 provisions defining this population; provides an update on the number of states enrolling children with special needs in capitated health plans, & assesses the steps the Health Care Financing Admin. has taken to establish appropriate safeguards for this population. Charts & tables.

America's Health Care Safety Net explains how competition and cost issues in today's health care marketplace are posing major challenges to continued access to care for America's poor and uninsured. At a time when policymakers and providers are urgently seeking guidance, the committee recommends concrete strategies for maintaining the viability of the safety netâ€"with innovative approaches to building public attention, developing better tools for tracking the problem, and designing effective interventions. This book examines the health care safety net from the perspectives of key providers and the populations they serve, including: Components of the safety netâ€"public hospitals, community clinics, local health departments, and federal and state programs. Mounting pressures on the systemâ€"rising numbers of uninsured patients, decline in Medicaid eligibility due to welfare reform, increasing health care access barriers for minority and immigrant populations, and more. Specific consequences for providers and their patients from the competitive, managed care environmentâ€"detailing the evolution and impact of Medicaid managed care. Key issues highlighted in four populationsâ€"children with special needs, people with serious mental illness, people with HIV/AIDS, and the homeless.