Integrated Case Management and Racial Disparities

What is it about?

Even among Medicaid beneficiaries, minority individuals may have lower use of specific health services relative to whites due to varying degrees of trust in the health system, beliefs about the usefulness of medical treatment, provider stereotyping, or geographic service availability. Prior research demonstrated that a Florida Medicaid disease management program led to reductions in service disparities between whites and African Americans. We study a Medicaid Integrated Case Management program implemented in Virginia, which shares disease management program objectives but can be applied to a broader range of patients. Two versions of the program are assessed, the latter of which incorporated more patient-focused and targeted approaches in identifying client needs and structuring patient interaction. Both versions of the program were associated with reductions in disparities, especially for physician services and when more targeted, patient-centered approaches were adopted.

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Why is it important?

Reducing racial disparities is an important objective of the US health system.

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