Opponents contend that the negotiation bill would raise the price of health care services without improving the quality of patient care. The most serious charge by opponents is that physician negotiation will return this nation to an era of double-digit health care premium increases. Such a belief is simply unwarranted. As a practical matter, if physicians follow the pattern of workers in most industries, less than 10 percent of them will have to join negotiating groups in order to level the playing field. For those who elect to join, negotiations will be more than challenging since most managed care firms will fight aggressively to keep costs down.
Physicians are concerned with the quality of their patients' health care.
It is reasonable to expect that negotiating groups made up of physicians will be concerned with quality as well. Additionally, negotiation groups in the U.S. have a history of quality orientation. Labor economists have found that such groups improve productivity and quality. Enforcement of the antitrust laws may provide the most effective way to deal with managed care market concentration. A truly competitive managed care market would be good for employers, managed care firms, providers and, most importantly, consumers.