Word: hmos
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...President claims that his plan "insures choice"--an uncontroversial goal. But the Bush plan actually works to limit choice by encouraging the use of "managed care" and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) which hold down costs by restricting their client's choice of doctor and hospital--and often limit doctors' options as well...
...doctor may dismiss it. Third, a physician simply may not take the time to report a suspicious problem to the FDA or drug manufacturer. "It means extra time, extra paperwork, and there is always the fear of litigation." Graedon believes the FDA should contract with large medical groups -- major HMOs, for instance -- to keep data bases on adverse reactions...
...control costs, care must be delivered through tightly managed private systems, such as a network of health-maintenance organizations (HMOs) or cost- conscious doctors and hospitals that provide moderately-priced services. Patients must have a financial stake in making sensible use of the system. They would benefit based on their ability to pay; deductibles and co-payments would sharply rise as one's income increased. High-cost medical procedures would be closely screened for their anticipated value in extending life and health...
SOLUTION: Managed care. Providers of group insurance should insist that doctors treating their patients be paid salaries or flat fees. Such a system is already employed by many HMOs, which charge group-insurance plans an annual fee for treatment and produce often dramatic savings. Treating 40 million Americans last year, HMOs cost an average of $2,683 per person, 17% less than the $3,214 cost of traditional indemnity plans, according to a survey conducted by the Foster Higgins consulting firm. Doctors bound by such strictures would still be free to earn extra income by treating other, higher- income patients...
...nationalized system of health care, funded by tax dollars and provided through the HMOs...