Health Care in Chaos: Will We Ever See Real Managed Care?

The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with a broad overview of managed care, including the scope and complexity of the issues facing nurses and consumers as the health care industry continues to consolidate and shift away from traditional fee-for-service financing. Managed care organizations (MCOs) and their evolving forms are reviewed; public policy issuesand their implications for nurses are identified; and responses for organized nursing are recommended. A glossary (See glossary) of terms and bibliography are provided, along with links to other Web sites of interest.