title: Increased competition and the quality of health care.
abstract: Available information does not indicate either that quality has deteriorated as price competition has increased or that quality has improved. To reward plans for providing what consumers want, public and private policies have crucial roles in the following areas: mandating minimal requirements for plans; funding research to improve knowledge and methods related to quality-of-care assessment; publication of quality-of-care information; selective contracting and regionalizing of services; and payment for physician services. Learning what degree of trade-off between cost versus quality and other benefits is acceptable to consumers will be an iterative process that informs future policies to safeguard the quality of care.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA. jes19@columbia.edu
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sisk
mesh_terms: D003258:Consumer Behavior; D004465:Economic Competition / Q000639:trends*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D019981:Health Care Sector / Q000592:standards; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States