Containing the Cost of Care for People Living with HIV/AIDS: An Examination of the Medicaid Managed Care Approach

This article examines Medicaid managed care's potential impact on people living with HIV/AIDS. The incongruence of the philosophy behind providing health and social services to people living with HIV/AIDS and with the philosophy behind the medical model of managed care is discussed. Health and social policy issues that various states have had to face concerning Medicaid managed care's administration of health benefits for people living with HIV/ AIDS are examined. Research on managed care is employed to extrapolate potential managed care models that states might use to administer the health benefits for people living with HIV/AIDS. Finally, policy and research agendas are proposed to begin investigating Medicaid managed care's potential impact on people living with HIV/AIDS.