Measuring Up: A Novel Approach to Assessing State Oversight of Medicaid Managed Care

The lack of recognized standards for what constitutes sufficient monitoring has hindered efforts to assess the effectiveness of state oversight of managed care plans. This brief describes an approach used to evaluate state oversight of a new Medicaid managed care program for individuals with disabilities in Washington. The approach evaluates both the type and vigor of monitoring activities by the state and the degree to which the state's activities achieved their desired program outcomes.