How Do You Foresee The Future Of Managed Care?

2 Pages 617 Words

How Do You Foresee the Future of Managed Care?


Managed care, the shorthand term used to refer to a diverse range of insurance and healthcare organizational strategies, came into prominence in the United States as national concern arose over the inability of indemnity insurance companies, employers, or governmental regulations to control the rate at which healthcare costs were rising. Moreover, managed care was expected to bring forth a more rational and equitable strategy for allocating scarce healthcare resources, improve access to needed services, and assure higher levels of quality of care for those covered by these plans. Recent trends in the healthcare insurance marketplace have caused significant changes in the way most types of managed care organizations go about their business. These changes have altered and made more complex the relationships among providers, patients, and insurers. Some of these changes have led to public expressions of disappointment in the accomplishments of managed care (what some have called “the managed care backlash”), while at the same time requiring the managed care industry to seek more innovative and effective approaches to healthcare financing and delivery. Despite these disgruntlements, the Center for the Study of Health System Change has recently reported that between 1997 and 2002 physicians reported a modest increase in the proportion of practice revenue from managed care contracts. Clearly, managed care is not to be dismissed as insignificant to either the present or the future of healthcare.
What the Future Holds:
Managed Care Backlash will become a permanent fixture, without producing radical reform. However, pharmaceutical costs may surpass managed care backlash in the number one health care public “hot seat.” PPO and Point of Service enrollment gains will continue and HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) will continue to soften management techniques. IPA (Individual pr...