Week 1 Project

Health insurance began in the early part of the twentieth century as a means to protect an organization’s assets, either its financial assets or its manpower. Since the early days, health insurance evolved into a system of managed care in order to control issues such as overutilization, skyrocketing costs, limited restrictions, and low-quality care.

Using the South University Online library or the Internet, search for articles on health insurance and managed care. Based on your research, summarize your findings and answer the following questions:

Examine the main events in the history of health insurance from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Explain how these events led up to the evolution of managed care organizations.
Evaluate the purpose of health care insurance in the early days.
Evaluate the evolution of health insurance and managed care. What is the relationship between the two and how has managed care risen to prominence in today’s health care market?
Explain how the perspective of health insurance has or hasn’t changed in today’s managed care environment.
Analyze the public policy and market forces leading to the growth of managed care.
Analyze the current trends in managed care and its future in the context of health care reforms.