,,,Provider Systems Thrive in Robust Economy

Provider Systems Thrive in Robust Economy


 

Publication Date: January 2000

Publisher: Center for Studying Health System Change

Author(s): Aaron Katz; Robert E. Hurley; Leslie A. Jackson; Timothy K. Lake

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Coverage: Indiana

Abstract:

In June 2000, a team of researchers visited Indianapolis, Ind., to study that community’s health system, how it is changing and the effects of those changes on consumers. The Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), as part of the Community Tracking Study, interviewed more than 85 leaders in the health care market. Indianapolis is one of 12 communities tracked by HSC every two years through site visits and surveys. Individual community reports are published for each round of site visits. The first two site visits to Indianapolis, in 1996 and 1998, provided baseline and initial trend information against which changes are tracked. The Indianapolis market encompasses a nine-county region. The Indianapolis health care market has shown remarkable stability over the past four years, despite such pressures as sharply rising premiums, a federal antitrust investigation and Medicare payment cuts. Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) remain the most popular form of managed care, and four major not-for-profit hospital systems, which also own some of the major health plans, continue to dominate the market, each with its own distinct geographic niche. State and local health policy activity increased over the past four years, and by 2000, policy makers had expanded health insurance coverage, strengthened the safety net and enacted new insurance regulations. In contrast, employers have exerted little influence in the health care market.