Abstract
This is an investigative report on the effects of managed care on the quality of health care. Managed care is a belief that a health care system should work to keep people healthy. However, when people are sick or injured, the health care plan should work to assure the right treatment in the right setting by the right person. There are various forms of managed care.

Tags:managed, care, quality

Abstract
This paper evaluates managed care and its negative implications on the patient-physician relationship. The author views managed health care as a serious threat to the trust embodied within the traditional patient-physician relationship. It is further argued that if this trust erodes, there cannot be any assurance about the adequacy of that health care system.

A Physician's Conflicting Loyalties
Managed Care Compromises Patient Autonomy
Ethical Problems Associated with Financial Incentives to Limit Care
Solution: Preserving the Physician's Role

From the Paper
"The foundation of the physician-patient relationship is the trust embodied within. It is based on the premise that physicians are primarily dedicated toward their patients, who can expect that physicians will honorably serve them even if it means putting the physician's own health at risk. They can rely on physicians to do everything in their power to help them. (Morreim, 23) It is this trust that enables patients to communicate private information and to place their health, and indeed their lives, in the hands of their physicians. No other individual in the health care system is in a position to assume such an important responsibility, such as the one that physicians have towards their patients. It is this trust between physicians and patients which is the backbone of any successful health care system; without it, there can be no assurance about the adequacy of that system."

Tags:Physician, Patient, Healthcare, Managed Care, Conflict, American Medical Association

Abstract
This paper addresses various concerns with counseling in the managed care environment in the United States. According to the paper, it has increasingly become a cost driven market that integrates the business of insurance with the provision of professional managed care services. Unfortunately, for many counselors, this cost driven philosophy represents a troubling trend that presents many challenges and obstacles.

From the Paper
"Over the past thirty years, counseling in the managed care environment in the United States has increasingly become a cost driven market that integrates the business of insurance with the provision of professional managed care services. Unfortunately, for many counselors, this cost driven philosophy represents a troubling trend that presents many challenges and obstacles. In fact, one expert goes as far as defining managed care as "a generic term for the myriad organizational arrangements..."

Tags:managed care, counseling, ethics

Abstract
Managed care in the United States consists of Health Management Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), and Medicaid and Medicare. These organizations arose as the growing population of the United States began to demand forms of health insurance that would not only provide services to workers but also their families. This paper discusses managed care health organizations in the US, looking at the reasons these organizations came into being, their origins and their original purpose.

Tags:health, managed, care

Abstract
This paper defines and explains the origins and purpose of managed care organizations (MCOs) in the US. The essay also discusses health maintenance organizations, (HMOs) how they operate, and how they differ from other MCOs. A detailed explanation of the characteristics and attributes of HMOs is included in the paper.

Table of Contents:
Abstract
Background
Characteristics/Significance of HMO's
Implication of Public Management
Assumptions and Implications
References

From the Paper
"As consumers, we are concerned about getting the most out of every dollar. The same idea applies to health care where patients are concerned about the cost, quality, and access to the care. HMO companies are interested in making profits and they do this sometimes by refusing to cover procedures approved by doctors. The government also has a stake in the policy as they give grants and subsidies to HMO companies. These funds usually come with certain rules and regulations that the organizations have to abide by if they want to continue receiving these funds. The physicians are then ultimately affected by actions of the HMOs, government, and sometimes the patients."

Tags:managed care organization, health plans, health insurance, policies patients

Abstract
This in-depth paper explores the managed health care system in America. The writer of this paper details the evolution of the managed care system from its inception in the 1940s when health care was developed through the arrangements of an enrolled population and a group of physicians who agreed to work on salary versus on a fee-for-service basis. Also discussed is the government-led reform which resulted in the 1973 passing of the HMO Act, as well as the political and ethical issues regarding doctor-patient confidentiality.

From the Paper
"The trend is gradually changing as local officials become better educated and experienced with human service programs and supportive local interest groups. This is the result of human service personnel and advocates beginning to realize the need for understanding and working effectively with the local political officials. The matter of politics is a two way street. Human service personnel need to learn more about politics. Political officials in turn can benefit from human service personnel involvement. Citizens and policy makers both recognize that better ways are necessary to conduct politics."

Tags:health, care, privacy, rights, doctor, patient, law, insurance, care, provider

Abstract
This paper explores the pros and cons of managed care, with special emphasis in the addictions field. The paper examines how managed care providers are now responsible for managing and providing health care coverage for much of addiction treatment. The paper further examines how many health care providers have expressed their concerns that managed care's stronghold in this area may reduce the quality of care afforded patients affected by addiction. The paper provides a synopsis of the pros and cons, with an analysis of the ethical considerations related to health care in general, as well as ethical considerations specific to the field of addictions treatment.

Outline:
Introduction
Benefits of Managed Care
Conflicts or Cons of Managed Care
Ethical Conflicts
How Does Managed Care Impact Ethical Codes
Recommendations and Conclusions
References

From the Paper
"Most of the goals associated with managed care are benevolent in nature. These include focusing on cost containment and quality improvement among health care organizations (Gervais et al. 1999). To this extend managed care agencies are interested in providing comprehensive mental health benefits, they simply aspire to do so in a cost effective manner. Initially managed care organization's primary focus included expanding access to quality health care services for those that were often uninsured or those that lacked adequate health care insurance because of their financial status (Gervais et al. 1999)."

Tags:health, coverage, financial, status, chiropractic, yoga, community

Abstract
This paper looks at the consequences for the American health care system of managed care programs, the primary goals of managed care programs as seen from the health care service providers, and the recipients of managed care programs. The paper also looks at some the inherent ethical contradictions in managed care systems and whether patients can actually be assured quality health care if the cost of that care is the primary consideration.

From the Paper
"Whether we like it or not, managed care is a reality in the United States. Its existence is causing an axiomatic restructuring at all levels of the American health care system. HMO's (Health Maintenance Organizations), PPO's (Preferred Provider Organizations), and physician-hospital organizations have become essential to our current health care delivery system. (Phoon et al., 1996) As the trend in health care continues to move away from traditional plans, it is imperative that we focus on the validity of quality in the managed care system."

Tags:health, maintenance, organization, preferred, provider, insurance, profits, hospitals

Abstract
The paper explores how managed care has affected patients, the healthcare system and the role of the nurse in the contemporary environment of cost containments and justifying expenses to the insurance company. The paper then looks at how managed care has affected the knowledge and skills needed by the nurse and the nursing education they have to receive.

Outline:
How Managed Care has Affected Patients, the Healthcare System, and the Role of the Nurse
How Managed Care has Affected the Knowledge and Skills Needed by the Nurse
The Effect of Managed Care on Nursing Education

From the Paper
"The current system of managed care was initially put into place mainly as a cost-cutting measure, to ease the financial stresses placed upon the healthcare system. However, many have argued that the impact of managed care upon patient health has been, according to most healthcare providers, largely detrimental. Before the advent of managed care, a healthcare provider's "obligations were owed almost exclusively to the patient" (Shapiro 2000). But in the era of managed care, physicians have had to become "more concerned with their obligations to the managed care organization--so much so that their clinical behavior has been altered" (Shapiro 2000). The American health care system is the most expensive healthcare system in the yet America has a higher rate of infant mortality and lower life expectancy than other industrialized nations (Copeland, 2003, p.1)"

Tags:knowledge, skills, education, insurance, providers, costs

Abstract
The paper looks at the system of managed care in the US and shows how, despite the many positive outcomes of this form of healthcare, there are difficulties that have not been overcome. The paper posits that in order for managed care to endure, changes in the marketing strategies for managed care must be considered and there should be renewed efforts to manage patient care by changing the limitation of choice in health care providers.

Outline:
Strengths
Weaknesses
Effectiveness
Conclusion

From the Paper
"There are difficulties with our society's health care. Many solutions have been suggested and many program variations have been tried, but costs have continued to rise and dissatisfaction with services have continued. One of the most recent and most criticized systems is the managed care system.
"Managed care is the most common form of health insurance in the United States. Its intent was to provide a more a cost efficient coverage than traditional insurance programs or paying a per-service charge. Managed Care, however, a very complicated system and often difficult for the insured to navigate."

Tags:HMO, insurance, companies, coverage, patient, physician