Disability and managed care : problems and opportunities at the end of the century /

Birenbaum (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) writes clearly and informatively about the cost-driven changes in health care organization, financing, and delivery and the ways in which these changes have impacted or may impact people with disabilities. He describes the health care revolution that threatens health and social goals of people with disabilities and explores the extent to which managed care is able to meet them. His discussions proceed from the assumption that people with disabilities deal with the realities of health care delivery more frequently and intensely than do those not disabled and, therefore, consumers, health care providers, and payers can learn much from their experiences. He explores the threats managed care presents to disabled persons' access to needed services and the consequences to their quality of care and of life. He explains the detrimental impact of managed care on centers of excellence and the opportunities for managed care to partner with public health organizations, and he summarizes unresolved issues related to managed care and disability. A valuable, interesting, and well-written book about major changes in health care financing and delivery and the consequences of a managed care system for people with disabilities. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals; two-year technical program students. A. Woodtli; University of Arizona