Leveraging the Random Assignment of Medicaid Managed Care Plans to Study Plan Choices, Treatment Effects, and Cream Skimming

Last registered on March 02, 2018
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Leveraging the Random Assignment of Medicaid Managed Care Plans to Study Plan Choices, Treatment Effects, and Cream Skimming
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002762
Initial registration date
March 01, 2018

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 02, 2018, 4:19 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region
South Carolina

Primary Investigator

Name
Matthew Notowidigdo
Affiliation
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Craig Garthwaite
PI Affiliation
Northwestern University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2017-01-01
End date
2019-01-01
Keywords
Health
Additional Keywords
Health Insurance, Medicaid Managed Care, Random Assignment
JEL code(s)
I13
Secondary IDs
Abstract
In South Carolina, the Medicaid program is administered through Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), which offer different health care plans to Medicaid beneficiaries. These plans differ in their generosity, network coverage, and other attributes, and they are evaluated by the state using a system of "star ratings." Starting in 2017, when consumers do not make an active plan choice, the state assigns a plan automatically using an explicitly random process. We use this auto-assignment feature to study the effect of plan assignment on patient outcomes, such as health care utilization and health care expenditures.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Garthwaite, Craig and Matthew Notowidigdo. 2018. "Leveraging the Random Assignment of Medicaid Managed Care Plans to Study Plan Choices, Treatment Effects, and Cream Skimming." AEA RCT Registry. March 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2762-1.0
Former Citation
Garthwaite, Craig and Matthew Notowidigdo. 2018. "Leveraging the Random Assignment of Medicaid Managed Care Plans to Study Plan Choices, Treatment Effects, and Cream Skimming." AEA RCT Registry. March 02. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2762/history/26259
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2017-01-01
Intervention End Date
2019-01-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Health care utilization and health care expenditures
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In South Carolina, the Medicaid program is administered through Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), which offer different health care plans to Medicaid beneficiaries. These plans differ in their generosity, network coverage, and other attributes, and they are evaluated by the state using a system of "star ratings." Starting in 2017, when consumers do not make an active plan choice, the state assigns a plan automatically using an explicitly random process. We use this auto-assignment feature to study the effect of plan assignment on patient outcomes, such as health care utilization and health care expenditures.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computer
Randomization Unit
Household
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
20,000
Sample size: planned number of observations
30,000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
5,000
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials