Law Commons^™

Outcomes Assessment In Health Care Reform: Promise And Limitations, Wendy K. Mariner

Faculty Scholarship

If the fundamental goals of the health care reform effort are to ensure universal access to an acceptable quality of health care at an affordable cost, then the threshold question for reform is: What health care services should be provided in an efficient, equitable system?

Answering this question requires weighing a complex mix of medical and social policy factors, a process not attempted in this article. But the starting point for that process should be determining what health care services “work” and what they cost. Outcomes assessment holds considerable promise in finding answers to these subsidiary questions, because it is …

Securing Health Or Just Health Care? The Effect Of The Health Care System On The Health Of America, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The author first analyzes why the prevention of illness and promotion of health provide the leading justification for the government to act for the welfare of the population. His analysis focuses principally on the foundational importance of health for human happiness, the exercise of rights and privileges, and the formation of family and social relationships. He explains why health care, although critically important; is not the only, nor even the most important, determinant of health. Most morbidity and mortality in the United States is attributable to environmental conditions, pathogens, and human behavior, which are all more responsive to population-based interventions …

Managed Competition, Integrated Delivery Systems And Antitrust, Thomas L. Greaney

All Faculty Scholarship

A central question confronting proponents of managed competition during the health reform debate in 1994 was whether competitive networks or integrated delivery systems would emerge. Under reformers’ vision, controlling costs depended on the emergence of a sufficient number of efficient and viable integrated delivery systems. Conversely, if one or a few integrated networks dominate the market for physician or hospital services, rivalry on the main issues of health care cost control would likely dissipate. This article argues that vigilant and sensible antitrust enforcement was also a prerequisite for the success of the managed competition model. Despite the considerable emphasis on …