Worry About Direction of Managed Care

“Losing Patience” (July 9) by Bettijane Levine represents another valuable step in the education of the American public about the outrageous destruction of quality medical care that has been progressively occurring over the last five years in the name of cost containment and managed care.

The advocates of this system defend its denials of medical and surgical care previously covered with the statement “there simply isn’t enough money to pay for everything.” What they fail to note, however, is the massive portion of the money available which goes into the administrative and executives salaries of the managed care organizations. They have added an additional cost to the health care system with the inclusion of these “managers” of health care.

There is no question that managed care has succeeded in lowering the cost of health care for the participants in that system, but these are short-term savings gained at the expense of long-term losses that include the deterioration of the health care system, the suffering of patients and the eventual departure from practice of many physicians frustrated and fed up with the inappropriate restrictions placed on their ability to care for patients. These long-term changes will have a profound impact on future health care and many are irreversible.

MICHAEL F. McGUIRE, MD

Vice president, acting president

California Society of Plastic Surgeons

Santa Monica

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I read the article about children with birth defects being denied medical coverage for “cosmetic surgeries” by their HMOs. I cannot understand why any child in the world, much less in the United States, could be denied such care.

While HMO organizations need good fiscal management, this means of saving money is heartless, and this reasoning is absurd. Government regulation of HMOs might not be such a bad idea in this area.

MARGARET M. CORLEW

Hacienda Heights

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As was pointed out in Levine’s fine article, children are being denied needed treatment in the name of cost containment. While cost containment may be necessary in the for-profit business world, it should not be the primary goal in health care.

Costs are controlled in health care by denying needed treatment to patients and reducing fees to doctors, all this while insurance company CEOs become wealthy.

JOHN GAWLEY, DDS

South Pasadena