Managed care, consumerism, preventive medicine: does a causal connection exist?
Managed care plans, and HMOs in particular, have long touted that their emphasis is on preventive care, to avoid expensive illness later in life. However, few articles in the contemporary literature adequately address this claim. The available evidence seems to support that HMOs do, in fact, provide greater access to preventive services, but the limitations of this research are substantial. This article discusses the scientific evidence on the relationships between managed care arrangements and the implications for preventive care in the current era, emphasizing consumer choices and less-restrictive plan structures.
Rizzo
John A
JA
Department of Economics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-8338, USA. john.rizzo@stonybrook.edu
Xie
Yang
Y
D003256:Community Participation; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011315:Preventive Medicine; D014481:United States