How to Choose and How to Use: Improving Rural Consumers' Knowledge of Managed Care
Center for Rural Pennsylvania
01/01/99 - 02-28/00
Kenneth E. Martin, Senior Research Associate
Larry D. Gamm, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Administration
One result of managed care's expanding influence is the concern that rural consumers may not be adequately informed about their choices in accessing and using health care under managed care plans. This project obtained information about consumer knowledge of managed care, what information is being provided to customers, who is providing the information, and how this information is being provided. A statewide consumer survey and three community case studies were used to identify consumer knowledge, community-based strategies for disseminating useful information on choosing and using managed care, and policy recommendations for improving consumer knowledge.