Health insurance plans intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS and PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.

Synonyms: Managed Care Programs, Case Management, Insurance, Insurance Case Management, Managed Care Program, Managed Health Care Insurance Plans, Program, Managed Care, Management, Insurance Case, Managed Care, Programs, Managed Care, Care, Managed