How Managed Care Can Help Couples Cope

ABSTRACT

This article traces how managed care became a quick fix to curb out-of-control healthcare costs rather than a real effective approach to managing care. To date, the impact has been not only a negative experience, but impediment to treating couples facing relationship and related problems. The author is optimistic about how managed care will evolve to recognize the importance of couples and family treatment as we enter the future with integrated systems of healthcare. ∗ The future will also require significant shifts in the thinking and practice patterns of providers and an emphasis on quality and outcomes.

Key Words:

• Managed care
• behavioural health care
• Reimbursements
• integrated delivery systems