Women and managed care: satisfaction with provider choice, access to care, plan costs and coverage

This article reports on differences in satisfaction with provider choice, access to care, and plan costs and coverage between women enrolled in fee-for-service and those in managed car plans. It also examines differences in satisfaction, access, and costs and coverage between higher and lower income women and between those in reported fair or poor health and those in excellent or good health, among women in managed care plans. The data for this study are from The Commonwealth Fund's 1994 Managed Care Survey, which included 1,544 women with employer- or union-sponsored insurance in Boston, Los Angeles, and Miami. The study found that women in managed care were less satisfied with provider choice and access to services, but more satisfied with out-of-pocket costs for services and the range of services covered. Both low-income women and those in fair to poor health reported more problems with access barriers than did either higher income women or those in excellent or good health.