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The ethical impacts of managed care

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Abstract

In an attempt to gain some control over ever escalating health care cost, many organizations have moved to a managed care concept of health benefits. Managed care health benefit strategies account for well over 90 percent of all employer sponsored health benefit programs.

In essence, managed care coverage usually demands, at a minimum, some form of utilization review in regard to provider services. Thus the privacy of the traditional doctor patient relationship must inevitably be modified when managed care enters the picture.

This paper provides a framework for analyzing the managed care phenomenon as well as surfacing ethical questions and issues that will continue to arise as managed care grows.

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George W. Rimler is Professor of Management at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has published numerous articles in academic and practitioner journals. His particular areas of interest are in entrepreneurship and organizational effectiveness.

Richard A. Morrison is the Executive Director of the Virginia Department of Health Professions. He has been active in numerous National Professional Associations.

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Rimler, G.W., Morrison, R.D. The ethical impacts of managed care. J Bus Ethics 12, 493–501 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01666564

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01666564

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