Although tax law generously subsidizes the employer payment of third-party health insurance premiums, it provides virtually no tax relief to those who pay medical bills directly. Thus the tax law encourages people to turn over all of their health care dollars to a third party. The results have not all been positive. Managed care appears to have succeeded in reducing the growth of health care spending. But it also has interfered with the doctor-patient relationship, often making doctors feel they are agents for a managed care bureaucracy more than agents of their patients.
Critics believe that managed care has lowered the overall quality of care.
Anecdotal horror stories are numerous. Voters are complaining. Politicians are ready to act. Protecting Patients Through Regulation and Bureaucracy. Many advocate keeping the current economic incentives in place, while piling restrictions on the managed care industry.