HEALTH-CARE COST-CONTAINMENT - AN OVERVIEW OF POLICY OPTIONS

While health care has become one of the leading policy concerns of the American public, cost containment has emerged as the most prominent u nderlying factor. Components of health care cost escalation include so cietal problems, consumer demand, an aging population, the technology explosion, administrative inefficiencies, the malpractice crisis, frau d and abuse, the lack of health promotion and disease prevention, the rising number of uninsured, and regulatory issues. The three major cat egories of health reform proposals, with characteristic cost containme nt features, are discussed. A comprehensive listing of available cost containment interventions is summarized in ten categories.