Purchasing coalitions and managed care

This article analyzes the role of managed care plans in purchasing coalitions. It examines the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and three employer coalitions in Central Florida, Colorado, and Memphis. These organizations appear to successfully demonstrate the advantages of many features of managed competition and managed care. They report significant cost savings, reductions in the use of unnecessary services, and improvements in quality. This article describes the types of managed care plans used by these coalitions and their arrangements with Medicare managed care.