The Physician Rebellion

Physicians are becoming increasingly concerned about the controls being placed on their practices by health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred-provider organizations, third-party insurance plans, and in some cases, their own group practices. Cost-containment efforts currently have broad social and political support, and physicians are finding that they are no longer the sole decision makers in terms of practice styles. When HMOs and other insurance plans concentrated on the reduction of hospital use and negotiated discounts for hospital services, physicians were concerned but often reluctantly acquiesced, mainly because this process did not directly affect their practices and at times actually helped protect.