Consumer choice is a watchword of the market reforms now sweeping the U.S. health care system. Policy makers, however, must grapple with an important ambiguity: is the objective to expand choice or protect choosers, and what should be done if the two goals conflict? Concerns about health care market malfunctions trigger a politics of consumer protection that may emphasize regulatory standards over market flexibility. To complicate matters further, hopes that deluging consumers with information can ensure that choices are at once ample and prudent are likely to be disappointed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adelson, A.1997. Health Plans with Choice: Good Deals?The New York Times, November 9.
2.
Berenson, R.1997. Beyond Competition. Health Affairs16 (March-April): 171-180.
3.
Berlin, I.1969. Four Essays on Liberty. New York: Oxford University Press.
4.
Brown, L. D.1993. Dogmatic Slumbers: American Business and Health Policy. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law18 (Summer): 339-357.
5.
Center for Health Care Strategies. (Pfizer, Inc.). 1997. Health Literacy: A National Conference Proceedings, June 3, Washington, DC.
6.
DeClereq, E., and D. Simmes. 1997. The Politics of ‘Drive-Through Deliveries’: Putting Early Postpartum Discharge on the Legislative Agenda. Milbank Quarterly75 (2): 175-202.
7.
Derthick, M., and P. J. Quirk. 1985. The Politics of Deregulation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
8.
Etheredge, L.1997. Promarket Regulation: An SEC-FASB Model. Health Affairs16 (November-December): 22-25.
9.
Goldstein, A.1997. Under the Scalpel, Then Out the Door. The Washington Post, November 19, A1, A16.
10.
Hirschman, A.Exit, Voice, and Loyalty.
11.
Hoy, E., E. K. Wicks, and R. A. Forland. 1996. A Guide to Facilitating Consumer Choice. Health Affairs15 (Winter): 9-30.
12.
Iglehart, J.1997. Interview: State Regulation of Managed Care: NAIC President Josephine Musser. Health Affairs16 (November-December): 36-43.
13.
Kelman, S.1981. Regulating America, Regulating Sweden: A Comparative Study of Occupational Safety and Health Policy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
14.
Klein, R.1995. Big Bang Health Care Reform—Does It Work?The Case of Britain’s 1991
15.
National Health Service Reforms. Milbank Quarterly73 (3): 299-337.
16.
1997. Journal of the American Medical Association, September 24.
17.
Melnick, R. S.1983. Regulation and the Courts: The Case of the Clean Air Act. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
18.
Moran, D.1997. Federal Regulation of Managed Care: An Impulse in Search of a Theory. Health Affairs16 (November-December): 7-21.
19.
Nadel, M. V.1971. The Politics of Consumer Protection. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.
20.
Rodwin, M.1997. The Neglected Remedy: Strengthening Consumer Voice in Managed Care. American Prospect34 (September-October): 45-50.
21.
Schultze, C.1977. The Public Use of Private Interest. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
22.
Shapiro, M.1997. FAA under Pressure to Reform Airline Inspections. Condé Nast Traveler, November, 43, 47-48, 50, 164-167, 213, 217-220.
23.
Shklar, J. N.1990. The Faces of Injustice. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
24.
State Health Watch. 1996. Consumers and Providers Lobby for State Oversight of Managed Care’s Comprehensive Plans, Incentives. 3 (December).
25.
State Health Watch. 1997. HMOs’ Right to Terminate Doctors “At Will” May Have Bigger Impact on Behavior of Physicians Than Gag Clause, GAO Concludes. 4 (October).
26.
State Health Watch. 1997. States Inconsistent in Checking Backgrounds of Health Plans Crossing Their Borders. 4 (April): 1, 8.
27.
Vogel, D.1986. National Styles of Regulation. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
28.
Wilson, J. Q., ed. 1980. The Politics of Regulation. New York: Basic Books.
29.
Winslow, R.1997. Quality of HMOs in U.S. Varies Widely, Report by Accreditation Group Finds. The Wall Street Journal, October 2, B6.
30.
Zeldin, T.1994. An Intimate History of Humanity. New York: Harper Collins.
