HCS/531
University of Phoenix
Dale Mueller

Managed care is the process of reducing health care costs while improving the quality of care. This is relevant to the changes in health care because it allows consumers and employers to have an alternative to traditional health care insurance that is less costly, while still maintaining a higher level of care than that which is found in traditional health care insurance. This relates to the changes in health care because it reduces the costs and allows more individuals to be able to afford health care without suffering a reduction in the quality of care that they receive. Furthermore, it allows businesses that may not previously been able to afford health care for their employees more options to facilitate coverage. For example, a small sized business may have a difficult time affording traditional health coverage for their employees, now has the ability to provide health care to their employees at a fractional based cost system. Furthermore, an individual who is paying their own health care costs independently can benefit from the efficiencies of managed care by controlling cost without sacrificing quality of care. The health care system underwent a drastic change in the 1990’s that saw traditional health care systems transition in to more managed care settings. This has impacted health care significantly because traditionally the four basic health delivery systems were fragmented, whereas, now, they are more integrated in the managed care environment. Since previously the physicians had primary control over the costs, while health care costs were on the rise, the new system of managed care seeks to control these costs. The other item managed care seeks to control is utilization. Previously, with traditional health care insurance, which is to say the physicians also primarily controlled the quantity of