Assess the History of Managed Care
History of Managed Care
According to the United States Library of Medicine (2012), managed care is intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including:
- 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.
- The intensive management of high-cost health care cases.
In order to define managed health care and to understand its impact, you must first understand the concept as well as the history of managed health care. This will then provide a clear foundation upon which an assessment of the impact of managed health care can be based. This is important; as a doctoral student, you must have an in-depth knowledge of health care, particularly as you begin to think about your research topic.
Week 1 Assignment: Assess the History of Managed Care