Managed Health Care: Effect on Employers' Costs Difficult to Measure
(Testimony, 02/02/94, GAO/T-HEHS-94-91).

Although some "managed care" plans have the potential for delivering
health care at lower cost, little empirical evidence exists showing that
the use of these plans has contained employers' overall health care
costs.  Managed care refers to insurance plans that limit patients to a
specific network of doctors and hospitals, control the use of services,
and negotiate reimbursement with providers.  Under this definition,
about half of all insured workers are covered by managed care plans.
GAO reviewed employers' experience with managed care and found that some
managed care plans, by negotiating physician and hospital payments and
controlling the use of services, can potentially hold down costs. Lower
costs for these plans, however, may not translate into lower health care
spending for employers due to enrollee differences and pricing policies.
GAO also discovered that employees like many features of managed care
plans but would rather not be limited in their choice of physicians.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-HEHS-94-91
     TITLE:  Managed Health Care: Effect on Employers' Costs Difficult 
             to Measure
      DATE:  02/02/94
   SUBJECT:  Health care cost control
             Cost analysis
             Health maintenance organizations
             Health insurance cost control
             Employee medical benefits
             Health services administration
             Patient care services
             Physicians
IDENTIFIER:  National Health Care Reform Initiative
             Clinton Health Care Plan
             Health Security Act
             
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