Effect of a gatekeeper plan on health services use and charges: a randomized trial.

A randomized trial was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a health care plan which uses physicians as gatekeepers to control health services use and charges. New enrollees in United Healthcare (UHC), an independent practice association, were randomly assigned to the standard UHC plan requiring a gatekeeper, or to an alternate plan with equal benefits but without a gatekeeper. Individuals in both plans were similar in demographic characteristics, perceived health status, and other health insurance coverage. The gatekeeper plan had 6 percent lower total charges per enrollee than the plan without a gatekeeper. There were minor differences in hospital use and charges. Ambulatory charges were $21 lower per person per year in the plan with a gatekeeper (95% CI = -39.9, -2.1) and these were due to .3 fewer visits to specialists (95% CI = -0.50, -0.10). We conclude that a health plan which incorporates incentives and penalties for physicians to act as gatekeepers can reduce the cost of ambulatory services by limiting specialist visits.

Factors affecting choice of health care plans.

The research reported here examined the factors which affected the decision to remain with either Blue Cross of Washington and Alaska or Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, or to change to an independent practice association (IPA) in which the primary care physicians control all care. The natural setting allowed examination of the characteristics of families with experience in structurally different plans; a decision not influenced by premium differentials; the importance of the role of usual provider; and a family-based decision using multivariate techniques. An expected utility model implied that factors affecting preferences included future need for medical care; access to care; financial resources to meet the need for care; and previous level of experience with plan and provider. Analysis of interview and medical record abstract data from 1,497 families revealed the importance of maintaining a satisfactory relationship with the usual sources of care in the decision to change plans. Adverse selection into the new IPA as measured by health status and previous utilization of medical services was not noted.

Out-of-plan use by Medicare enrollees in a risk-sharing health maintenance organization.

In this study, we analyzed the cost and volume effects of a waiver that eliminated lock-in restrictions on out-of-plan use in a health maintenance organization (HMO) with a Medicare risk-sharing contract. We compared out-of-plan cost and number of claims during a 15-month base line period when the lock-in was in effect, with a 24-month waiver period when the lock-in was removed. The results demonstrate that average per capita cost and claims increased significantly for both Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (supplementary medical insurance) out-of-plan services during the waiver. Self-referred out-of-plan use normally prohibited by lock-in, accounted for 20 percent of all out-of-plan costs during the waiver and 57 percent of the increase in out-of-plan costs from the lock-in to the waiver. The combination of risk-sharing and lock-in provisions holds promise as a method for reducing expenditures for the Medicare program.

Use of ambulatory care services in three provider plans: interactions between patient characteristics and plans.

A previous study of low-income enrollees in a closed-panel health maintenance organization (HMO) and a Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BC/BS) plan showed that the effect on the use of health services of the age, sex, health status, previous health care use, race, and family size of the enrollees was different in the two plans. We have replicated this study using the same two provider plans but studying a different group of white collar, middle class enrollees. A third plan, an experimental independent practice association (IPA), was also available for analysis. Utilization was defined as use (yes/no) and the quantity of use for those who used services (in standardized dollars). Significant interactions were detected between plan and all of the independent variables but race. The use of services in the HMO was least affected by enrollees' characteristics (age, sex, race, health status, prior use, family size) and use was most sensitive to patient characteristics in BC. In some respects, the IPA was more like the HMO and in other respects more like the BC/BS plan.

Program evaluation: resource for decision making.

Formal program evaluation is an important resource for health care decision making. It is necessary in situations where traditional organizational evaluative capabilities an no longer meet the requirements of the job at hand.

Cost containment through risk-sharing by primary care physicians: a history of the development of United Healthcare.

A new type of independent practice association has been organized to encourage primary care physicians in private practice to become coordinators and financial managers for their patients' medical care. Each patient chooses one internist, family or general physician, or pediatrician and must be referred by that physician for all specialized care. The primary care physician authorizes payment from his/her own account for hospital and referral care provided to patients. He or she shares any deficit or surplus remaining at the end of the year. This is a background paper detailing the history of development and specific features contained in this new concept of putting the physician in charge and "at risk" for the costs of medical care to his/her patients. The plan has been operating in northern California, Washington, and Utah and has 40,000 members and 750 participating physicians. This historical background paper is part of a large project--State Employees' Insurance Benefits Utilization Study (SEIBUS) being done by the University of Washington School of Public Health to evaluate use and costs of medical care under this innovative plan.

Increased access to medical care: the impact on health.

Many federally financed programs have been launched to improve the access of the poor to medical care, under the assumption that this will improve their health. The effectiveness of these programs, however, has generally been measured by increased utilization rather than by improved health. The few studies which have considered health status have shown small or negative effects. Here, data are presented from a project which provided fully prepaid care to near poor families through existing sources in the community. A group of 748 enrollees was found to report worse health on four of five health indicators after one year of enrollment in the program; further, they appeared sicker on all five measures than a group without free medical care. It is suggested: 1) that the impact of health programs on the health of a population is a complex and poorly understood issue; and 2) that increasing access to health care may not be an effective way to improve health.

The relationship between utilization of mental health and somatic health services among low income enrolees in two provider plans.

Mental health services were included in comprehensive benefits available with no out-of-pocket expenses to enrollees in the Seattle Prepaid Health Care Project. This study was designed to examine the characteristics of users as compared to nonusers of mental health services and to examine the possibility of lower use of somatic health services attributable to the availability of mental health services. Two enrollee groups were studied: one group included enrollees with at least one mental health service (MH-U) and the other included those with some somatic utilization but without mental health utilization (MH-NU). Results indicated that mental health users were different from nonusers based on sociodemographic, health status, and prior utilization measures. Further, the mental health utilizers consumed more somatic services than other enrollees, even controlling for background variables. The visit and admission rates for the MH-U group were 2.4 times that of the MH-NU group, and total inpatient and outpatient costs were three times as high. On all three comparisons, approximately 60 per cent of the difference was accounted for by mental health utilization and by differences in sociodemographic and health status characteristics. The remaining 40 per cent could not be explained, but there is a suggestion that the higher utilization occurred for conditions where medical care is discretionary.

Mental health services: utilization by low income enrollees in a prepaid group practice plan and in an independent practice plan.

Mental health services were included in a comprehensive package of benefits available to low income enrollees in a prepaid group practice plan (PGP) and in an independent practice plan (IPP) under the Seattle Prepaid Health Care Project. There were no out-of-pocket costs for enrollees. Utilization of services was studied for four years under conditions that might simulate universal entitlement. The analyses indicated that females used substantially more mental health services than males and that enrollees aged 20-44 used more services than those in other age groups. The prepaid group practice generally experienced higher utilization than the prepaid independent plan. Significant racial differences were evident with whites using more services than blacks and black males using strikingly few services. The prepaid independent plan was oriented toward physician providers and emphasized individual psychotherapy while the prepaid group practice employed a diversity of practitioners and therapeutic modalities. The data indicated that the per cent of enrollees using any mental health services was twice as great in the PGP as in the IPP. However, once access to the provider system was achieved, the number of services utilized was greater in the PGP. Inpatient services were also examined. A significantly higher proportion of IPP enrollees were admitted for inpatient care as compared to PGP enrollees. Finally, the cost of mental health services was less than ten per cent of total health service costs in both plans.