Medicaid: a comparison of Oklahoma and surrounding states, 1990-1994.

Medicaid has been the "safety net" for certain low-income people. In recent years, many states, including Oklahoma, have determined to enroll beneficiaries in managed care plans in an attempt to hold down the costs. Oklahoma began enrolling people in 1995, and the issue will be: was the managed care approach successful at least in controlling costs? To prepare, expenditures for the four years prior to the managed care approach have been analyzed. Comparison with surrounding states indicates that Oklahoma was already successful with negative average annual growth rates for the period 1992-1994, and that Oklahoma was more successful than surrounding states.