Law Commons^™

Cutting Costs - Cutting Care: Can Texas Managed Health Care Systems And Hmos Be Liable For The Medical Malpractice Of Physicians., Jim M. Perdue, Stephen R. Baxley

St. Mary's Law Journal

One of the most common forms of managed health care is the health maintenance organization (HMO). An HMO is a quasi-insurance arrangement which provides health care to subscribers for a prepaid monthly fee. These have been attractive as they offer health care at lower cost to consumers. Health care brokers have developed four standard models of HMOs— “staff model,” “group model,” “network model,” and “independent practice association” (IPA) model. Given the degree of control HMOs exercise over member-physicians under any of the above models, Texas courts should hold HMOs liable for their member-physicians’ malpractice under the doctrine of vicarious liability, …