The American Nurse, June 1995 by Ursula Himali Ask any hospital administrator whose hospital has recently undergone restructuring that includes cuts in RN staffing what prompted the reorganization, and managed care is likely to be one of the top reasons cited. For many nurses, managed care has become synonymous with the cost-containment forces driving RN layoffs. Managed care is what we hate. Continuity of care, prevention and early intervention are stressed. It's providing exactly the type of primary health care services nurses do best.
Nursing care appears to have taken a back seat to the bottom-line interests of many providers.
Reckless approaches to cost containment are, in too many instances, driving the restructured marketplace. Managed care was seen as a system of organizing care, and not just as a mechanism of financing. In gearing up for the war, Kaiser found many of its employees preoccupied with health care concerns. So he set about developing a health plan for his employees. After the war, Kaiser found he had a body of loyal and appreciative workers, and he knew he was on to something.