What Does HMO Market Share Measure? Examining Provider Choice Restrictions

摘要

Many discussions of managed care, as well as policy making and research efforts, treat managed care with a broad brush, forcing a wide variety of organizations into a single framework that facilitates discussion but abstracts from a number of key issues. Although it may be instructive to conduct broad discussions about managed care, a more detailed understanding of the specific activities that managed care plans undertake and their likely effects is required to support comprehensive policy efforts. Frequently, however, efforts to be more detailed are hampered by shortcomings in the measurement of managed care.