The Medical Care Advisory Committee for state Medicaid programs: current status and trends.

Each State Medicaid program is required by Federal Regulations to have a Medical Care Advisory Committee (MCAC) which includes provider, consumer, and government representatives and which participates in policy development and program administration. Data are presented about the composition of these committees, their structure, the administrative and financial support they receive, and the nature of their activities. It is argued that they can play an important role in policy formulation and implementation, but that they need to be reformed in order to exploit that potential.