Health Care ’s Third Wave

By DAVID M. CORDANI Change and American health care have become synonymous. “Change” can be exciting and life-altering when it refers to the innovative new therapies and treatments that improve or extend life, many of those originating in the United States. Change, though, can be a tremendous source of anxiety for families concerned with the affordability of care and stability in their health care coverage choices. It is the tension between these two definitions of change that the United States has struggled to solve over the past three decades. As we have all witnessed, the health care marketplace has gone through two successive waves of change over the past 30 years, with the third wave now upon us.  The first wave was managed care, which sought to rein in cost and quality relative to “unmanaged care.” But while managed care made some gains, it still proved to be unsustainable in its constraint of choice and its focus on financing “sick care” rather than on optimization of health. The second wave of “reforms” saw companies like Cigna evolve – or change – from “insurance” to a health services focus, with more engagement and support for the individual and partnerships with health care providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers predicated on the health outcomes achieved rather than the volume of services provided.  The second wave has seen the health care industry as a whole work together to improve health, lower health risks and improve the cost str...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Cigna Hospitals manage care medical cost sustainable health care system Source Type: blogs