Empowering initiatives to improve a community's health status

The rapid growth of managed care in this country has contributed to major and ongoing changes that affect how consumers receive care and how providers deliver it. No longer are the terms managed care and capitation limited to the vernacular of policy developers and fiduciary entities. Consumers quickly are becoming informed, and this is leading to greater regulation of the managed care industry. Managed care, too, is evolving to another level as communities of consumers find that their health maintenance plans are not what they expected, needed, or desired. Empowered consumers are assuming the driver's seat and negotiating changes in services provided to them. To counter the power of well-organized managed care entities, partnerships comprising concerned consumers are rapidly springing up across the 50 states. They are starting to hold managed care organizations accountable, demanding information about the health outcomes of enrollees in relation to costs. The article examines partnerships that are using the data-driven community health assessment process to improve a community's health and ensure that providers deliver quality services that are appropriate for those consumers.