President Clinton's proposal for health care reform calls for managed
competition within global expenditure targets. However, it is unlikely
that health plans will have sufficient leverage with providers to neg
otiate arrangements consistent with expenditure targets in nonurban ar
eas. This paper describes a reimbursement system based on competitive
prospective payment and capitation (CPPC) which can supplement managed
competition in less populous areas or replace managed competition sho
uld that strategy prove unsuccessful. The CPPC system is capable of en
forcing an expenditure target while encouraging the formation of capit
ated networks and creating strong incentives for efficiency. It is gen
erally compatible with the Clinton administration's version of managed
competition.