Federal regulations encourage state Medicaid agencies to use external quality review organizations (EQROs) to help implement strategies for assessing the quality of services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in managed care plans. This study provides state Medicaid programs, managed care organizations, EQROs, and other child health professionals with strategies for using EQROs to enhance the quality of preventive and developmental services for young children. The authors' findings indicate that only a few states are now using EQROs to assess preventive and developmental services, but more states could do so if a key stakeholder elects to champion the issue and if state staff and EQROs have the relevant knowledge base. They also underscore the importance of building a strong argument for improving preventive and developmental services and suggest a critical need to provide state Medicaid agency staff with the knowledge and experience to play a leadership role in this area.
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