October 1999
This is barely a blip on the screen and yet, just the fact that it's being discussed in some places points to dissatisfaction with HMOs' programs.
The Rehnquist Court is decidedly pro-states, as are many lower-level judges, but other factors will affect HMO liability and physician bargaining cases.
People talk of mergers as if they were all done when the ink dries. But the real secret to a successful merger comes afterward.
Primary-care practices are hurting, with bankruptcies by the week, but California's problems today won't necessarily be everyone else's tomorrow.
The head of the California Association of Health Plans began as an activist against the HMO industry, and gradually came to see the system as the best way to manage both care and costs.
A device hardly larger than an Rx pad may fare better than earlier versions of electronic prescribing. Vendors say learning to use them is a snap.
Departments
Washington Watch
Michael Levin-Epstein
State Initiatives
Bob Carlson
Compensation Monitor
Legal Forum
Mark D. Abruzzo, J.D.
Managed Care Outlook