Capitation, Advances in Medical Technology, and the Advent of a New Era in Medical Ethics

Abstract

Health care is being capitated throughout the United States, and much of the spread of capitation is attributable to the efforts of insurers to contain costs. The present lack of comprehensive studies evaluating the impact of capitation on overall health care quality leaves vast room for speculation.Capitation does, however, carry a very fundamental certainty with broad implications. Whether the arrangement calls for a fixed sum for treating a particular ailment, a set fee for meeting all of an individual patient’s health care needs, or a standard charge for supplying all the medication for a specific condition, capitation sets limits. Because the health care costs for any given patient or condition are in reality zero-sum rather than fixed, capitation is about pooling patients and rationing. It involves denying services to some patients despite a general contractual commitment to coverage, presumably so that more patients can be covered or receive better care. The implications of capitation are even more significant when set fully in the context of the overall health care reform now underway. Simultaneously and comprehensively, health care is being managed, made for-profit, and consolidated.