"Managed care or managed healthcare is used in the United States to describe a group of activities intended to reduce the cost of providing health care and providing American health insurance while improving the quality of that care."
Exploration of the role of managed care organizations in healthcare policy, including their impact on quality of care, utilization, and cost containment.
"It has become the predominant system of delivering and receiving American health care since its implementation in the early 1980s."
"...has been largely unaffected by the Affordable Care Act of 2010."
"...economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care... programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services... increased beneficiary cost sharing... controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay... the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery... selective contracting with health care providers... and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases."
"The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as Health Maintenance Organizations and Preferred Provider Organizations."
"The growth of managed care in the U.S. was spurred by the enactment of the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973."
"While managed care techniques were pioneered by health maintenance organizations, they are now used by a variety of private health benefit programs."
"Managed care is now nearly ubiquitous in the U.S."
"Overall goal of controlling medical costs."
"Managed care has attracted controversy because it has had mixed results in its overall goal of controlling medical costs."
"...it ranks among the best in terms of quality."
"...among the worst with regard to access, efficiency, and equity in the developed world."
"...intended to reduce the cost of providing health care and providing American health insurance while improving the quality of that care."
"Managed care provides economic incentives for physicians to select less costly forms of care."
"Managed care includes controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay."
"Increased beneficiary cost sharing is a mechanism intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs."
"The establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery."
"Managed care involves the intensive management of high-cost health care cases."
"Managed care involves selective contracting with health care providers."
"Managed care has attracted controversy... critics are also sharply divided on managed care's overall impact on U.S. health care delivery."