Managed care is blamed for lowering quality

Managed care has decreased the quality of care patients receive, says 49% of health care executives responding to a survey by the University of California, Irvine, Graduate School of Management.

Additionally, 47% of the 162 health insurers, providers, academicians, and regulators who responded to the survey said the trend of nonprofit entities aligning with for-profit organizations has not improved patients’ access to health care. The survey results were published in the school’s Feb. 17 issue of Managed Healthcare Stat.

"Our survey supports the fact that many experts fear quality is not being rewarded in a for-profit health system," says Paul Feldstein, MD, chairman of the school’s health care management program.

Many of the respondents said they did not believe Medicare reform or legislation for providing insurance for uninsured children would be enacted this year. But 56% said that mergers would increase competition.