Market-Oriented Cost-Containment Strategies and Quality of Care

Although the potential of market-oriented strategies to contain medical care costs has been much examined and debated, likely effects on quality of care have not received the same attention. Reduced tax subsidization of health insurance premiums is intended to result in increased cost-sharing and greater enrollment in HMOs. But it is likely to have some negative effects on existing levels of quality, primarily from changes in utilization patterns rather than from changes in source of care. Without effective safeguards, market-oriented provisions can be expected to have negative effects on the quality of medical care and its equitable distribution.

Author(s): Leon Wyszewianski; ; Avedis Donabedian

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Volume 60, Issue 4 (pages 518–550)
Published in 1982