Managed care's effect on minority physicians and their patients.
Using data from a cross-sectional mail survey that ultimately included 1,215 physicians, the termination and denial rates of minority physicians' managed care contracts across all specialties were compared with nonminority physicians. The study measured termination and denial rates using several variables, including physicians who were denied managed care contracts more than three times in the previous two years. The authors found that 4.4% of the Hispanic physicians, compared with 3.3% of the Caucasian physicians, 6.4% of the African-American physicians, and 5.8% of the Asian physicians, were denied managed care contracts more than three times during this period. The authors also found patient characteristics of those physicians with the highest rates of contract denials and terminations in the state of Maryland, and concluded differences were observed in the selection of physicians by MCOs, even after considering market competition.
Elder
Keith
K
Department of Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia 29208, USA. kelder@gwm.sc.edu
Miller
Nancy
N
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008396:Maryland; D008484:Medicaid; D006278:Medicare; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D010361:Patients; D010820:Physicians; D014481:United States