Health Affairs

Posting date: November 10, 2004

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Health Affairs, 10.1377/hlthaff.w4.516
Copyright © 2004 by Project HOPE

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Public Perceptions Of Cost Containment Strategies: Mixed Signals For Managed Care

Claudia L. Schur ^1*, Marc L. Berk ², Jill M. Yegian ³

¹ Claudia Schur is a principal research scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago in Bethesda, Maryland.
² Marc Berk is vice president and senior fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago in Bethesda, Maryland.
³ Jill Yegian is director of the Health Insurance Program at the California HealthCare Foundation in Oakland.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

With health care costs, and insurance premiums in particular, escalating rapidly, we may see the reintroduction of utilization management strategies associated with managed care, which seemed destined for oblivion only a short time ago. Results from a survey to assess Americans’ views of managed care cost containment strategies indicate mixed support: Despite an overall lack of confidence in managed care, Americans appear to be receptive to specific managed care practices. Those designing cost containment strategies must find a balance between imposing restrictions that moderate use and hold down costs and allowing consumers to retain some control over their own health care.

Key Words: Access To Care, Consumer Issues, Health Reform, Managed Care, Public Opinion, Health Spending, Insurance Market

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