title: Managed care and cost reductions for entitlements.
abstract: When managed care plans are used by Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, the results experienced to date are at best mixed. There are usually higher costs for the public sector. This procompetitive thrust focusing on micromanaging benefits should only be viewed as an interim step, as more macro-oriented health reform initiatives like Medicaid block grants to the states are in the process of being implemented. Other unsettling issues for managed care plans to resolve include: potentially providing benefits to the 40 million uninsured Americans; possibly negotiating reimbursement rates within global budgetary targets; and satisfying the public as health maintenance organizations must further restrict choice of provider.
authors.affiliation: Bedford Health Associates, Inc., Asheville, NC, USA.
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Weil
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002204:Capitation Fee; D003710:Demography; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000639:trends*; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008484:Medicaid / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D006278:Medicare / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011907:Rate Setting and Review; D014481:United States