Managed Care in a New Key: Britain's Strategies for the 1990s

Abstract

The new Labour government in Britain has issued three variations of a White Paper that outline significant changes in how the world's largest managed care health system will be run. All three emphasize systemwide criteria for quality, effectiveness, and health gain, which in turn imply redressing past inequalities in funding and service. One, the Scottish Paper, eliminates Thatcher's internal market and returns to a simple organizational structure centering on the health boards. The other two propose combining primary care practices into purchasing groups, a daunting task that will spawn many new problems and expenses as it recreates the internal market.