Mis(managed) care

The only good thing about managed care seems to be its name ! It will come as no surprise to physicians that managed care (as practiced) does not improve patient care. Turns out it doesn't even cut costs. According to an article published in the May /
June 2004 issue of Health Affairs, the United States continues to spend
much more on health care services than on any other industrialized nation
despite more than 10 years of managed care. The article, based on data
from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
shows that at $4,887, U.S. per capita healthcare spending in 2001 was
higher than comparable spending in all other OECD countries. In addition,
many industrialized countries have higher physician- and
nurse-to-population ratios than the United States has, according to the
article, which notes that the supply of U.S. physicians per capita grew
only 1 percent per year between 1991 and 2001.