How does managed care aim to improve healthcare delivery?

Managed care is designed to improve healthcare delivery primarily by reducing costs while simultaneously improving the quality of care provided to patients. This approach focuses on efficiency, coordination of care, and preventive services, which help minimize unnecessary medical procedures and hospitalizations, ultimately lowering overall healthcare expenditures.

By negotiating lower fees with healthcare providers, creating a system of incentives for providers to keep patients healthy, and emphasizing preventive measures, managed care organizations can deliver high-quality healthcare at a lower price. This method also streamlines communication among healthcare providers, ensuring that patient care is coordinated effectively, which can lead to better health outcomes.

The other options, while they may have some elements of truth in various contexts, do not encapsulate the core aim of managed care. For example, increasing patient choice and flexibility is often seen as a characteristic of traditional insurance models rather than managed care, which generally places guidelines around access to certain services. Allowing unlimited access to specialists contradicts the managed care philosophy, which often requires referrals to control costs and ensure appropriateness of care. Focusing solely on emergency services ignores the overarching goal of managed care, which is to prioritize overall health management rather than just reactive treatment.