title: The stages of managed care regulation: developing better rules.
abstract: The managed care industry is at a crossroads. Belief in the ability of market forces alone to create an environment fostering quality health care at lower cost is eroding. Regulators across the country are confronted with a growing consumer backlash against managed care. As a result, states have passed managed care reform legislation at unprecedented rates. In doing so, states are confronted with a patchwork of federal intervention and preemption. We examine the stages of these recent state and federal developments and evaluate them in terms of the traditional objectives of a reasonably functioning health care system: quality care, access, and cost containment.
authors.affiliation: Harvard School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Noble
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Brennan
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D003254:Consumer Advocacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003363:Cost Control; D030881:Disclosure; D019461:Employee Retirement Income Security Act; D005161:Facility Regulation and Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D035082:Federal Government; D033161:Government Regulation; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D019981:Health Care Sector / Q000458:organization & administration; D020408:Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012922:Social Change; D012941:Social Responsibility; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States