Their objectives were to derail a movement toward national health care insurance and to cut health care costs. Managed competition is, among other things, a private regulatory system. Insurance companies, utilization review firms, and health care delivery units all regulate care today, using a system that is often more afflicted with bureaucratic and control mechanisms than the public programs, Medicare and Medicaid. Moreover, it has not been particularly successful in cutting costs. The author believes that public regulation offers the possibility of democratic participation in setting health policies and goals.
Private regulation is designed precisely to subvert that possibility.
Where there has been much heat, Betty Leyerle brings light. Provides many insightful and thought-provoking ideas. This is a book to read for those who would like some understanding of the ways in which the health care system has changed and the directions to anticipate in the future. It is also a book for those who have followed these changes closely. For this group, it will provide new understanding and insight into the process that continues to unfold.