States Push Back Against Medicaid Managed Care
From Code WACK! by HEAL California
March 30, 2026 · 19 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges posed by Managed Care Organizations in Medicaid and how some states are responding to these issues.
This time on CodeWACK! Today, most people on Medicaid get their care through private insurers called Managed Care Organizations, or MCOs—like Aetna and UnitedHealthcare. Critics say these companies add layers of bureaucracy that make it harder for patients—most of them low-income—to get care. They discourage physicians from accepting Medicaid patients by making them jump through hoops to get treatment pre-authorizations, or even to get paid. Are Managed Care companies making health care more expensive, not less? How are some states reacting? Are legislators starting to wake up and see through the hype? Some are. All this and more is discussed in a recent report from Physicians for a National Health Program , Removing the Middlemen from Medicaid . To unpack it, we spoke with Dr. Alankrita Olson—a public health physician and PNHP board member who advocates for a single-payer healthcare system. This is the 2nd of a two-part series. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate .
People in this episode
Guest: Dr Alankrita Olson
Topics covered
- Medicaid
- Managed Care Organizations
- healthcare costs
- public health
- legislation
Keywords
- bureaucracy
- healthcare access
- single-payer system
- Physicians for a National Health Program
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Aetna, UnitedHealthcare
Books & works: Removing the Middlemen, the Transcript and Show Notes
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- The Middlemen Making Money Off Medicaid · March 23, 2026 · 17 min
- The Hidden Cost of Private Equity Hospital Buyouts · March 16, 2026 · 15 min
- Is private equity in health care killing us? · March 9, 2026 · 18 min
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