title: What surgeons need to know to help patients receive quality medical care in managed care settings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Americans spend more than $3,300 per person per year on health care, an amount businesses, government, and citizens alike consider too high.
  Managed care attempts to offer services at a lower cost, about 10% below that of indemnity insurance, and attempts to controls costs by modifying decisions historically made by physician and patient. Many techniques have been used to modify the decision-making process, with varying effects on quality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Surgeons can help sustain easily accessible, high-quality care through various personal behaviors and through choosing their managed care partners well.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Systems Research, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, USA.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Lauve
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation; D003363:Cost Control; D013502:General Surgery / Q000191:economics; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics*; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014481:United States