Racial and ethnic differences in receipt of primary care services between medicaid fee-for-service and managed care plans.

We used a cross-sectional, population-based sample of Medicaid beneficiaries aged 18-64 to determine whether managed care enrollment was associated with reduced racial/ethnic disparities in self-reported access to primary care services compared with fee-for-service. Managed care beneficiaries reported greater access in each racial/ethnic category and for each outcome than did fee-for-service beneficiaries, although associations were not always statistically significant. Racial/ethnic minorities enrolled in managed care plans reported as much benefit from managed care enrollment as did whites. Within Medicaid, interventions aimed at the health insurance delivery model can facilitate increased access to primary care services without enhancing racial/ethnic disparities.