U.S. Military Academic Medical Centers: Crown Jewels or White Elephants

摘要

Managed care is the most important change in American medicine since medicineorganized along modern lines at the beginning of the twentieth century. Civilian academic medical centers, the crown jewels of twentieth century medicine, will become so disadvantaged in the competitive marketplace under managed care that many are being forced to slash prices and reorganize services. The marginal ones will be forced to close. Military academic medical centers will also be affected by managed care. This paper examines the impact of managed care on military academic medical centers through evidence gained from interviews with senior executive military medical leadership. These leaders believe that military managed care will support military academic medical centers in their readiness missions. They conclude that managed care will enhance the position of military academic medical centers, rather than compete with them.