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Benefits Of Managed Care During The 1940 ' S

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Managed care was born out of necessity. It involves plans, members, providers, and payments intertwined, one not working without the other. With managed care came rising health care costs. Utilization management and quality initiatives were introduced to help control these costs. Medicare and Medicaid were also helpful in setting standards of care which reimbursement is based on as well as providing access to health care for more people. Health care costs continue to rise but with passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) the goal is more people will have access to affordable, quality health insurance while reducing the growth in our healthcare spending. The roots of managed care are planted deeply in the 1940’s. …show more content…

6). We are able to see how these significant events impact us even now. As our health care system continued to evolve, the 1990s saw health care delivery and financing primarily controlled by indemnity insurers, nonprofit hospitals and private physicians (Gabel, 1997, p. 134). Health insurance premiums grew by 20% and enrollment grew from 36.5 million to 58.2 million (Gabel, 1997, p. 134). With the growth of managed care plans, hospitals began to merge and the development of large physicians group practices evolved (Kongstvedt, 2016, p. 14). These roots of managed care grew to give us the health care system we are familiar with now.
Today, there are several types of managed care plans including Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), HMOs, and Point-of-Service (POS) plans. There are many types of HMOs that offer members a variety of health benefits. An HMO plan requires the member to use health care providers and facilities within the HMO network in order receive coverage, unless it is an emergency (Andrews, 2014, p. 1). A PPO is a form of managed care that most resembles a fee-for-service type situation. The plan members can generally refer themselves to doctors, including doctors outside the plan, although they typically will pay a higher percentage of the cost if the doctor is out of the network (Andrews, 2014, p. 1). A POS plan allows members to refer themselves outside the HMO network and still get some coverage (Andrews, 2014, p. 1). While these

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