managed care

Managed care is a concept in U.S. health care that started to influence health policy during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, ostensibly as a way to control Medicare payouts. According to the National Library of Medicine, the term "managed care" encompasses a variety of health insurance programs: ...intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as Health Maintenance Organizations and Preferred Provider Organizations.
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Man·aged care n. Any arrangement for health care in which an organization, such as an HMO, another type of doctor-hospital network, or an insurance [more]Managed care - Community and Resources

A cost-containment approach to providing medical and other health-related services that makes such services available to participating insureds through arrangements with providers preselected by the healthcare system’s management.

An organized system for delivering comprehensive mental health services that allows the managed care entity to determine what services will be provided to an individual in return for a prearranged financial payment. Generally, managed care controls health care costs and discourages unnecessary hospitalization and overuse of specialists, and the health plan operates under contract to a payer.