A Show of Handhelds Healthcare From a New Perspective Defined contribution plans will shift the focus to individual choice and competition. By Lisa Stammer May 2001 - Healthcare Informatics E veryone, it seems, is disenchanted with the way the U.S. healthcare system works. Employers are seeking new ways to provide cost-effective care to their employees. Health plans are looking for new ways to please the employers.
Physicians are tired of following rules for the care they can provide.
And consumers are fed up with being told what doctors and procedures will be covered. All that may change. In the wake of double-digit healthcare inflation and new technologies, consumers may be taking a much more active role in their healthcare choices through an idea called defined contributions. Just as managed care displaced indemnity insurance a decade or so ago, defined contribution plans could replace managed care. And employees like the idea of being able to select and direct their coverage.