MCOs: Problem, Not Solution

In the March 17 issue, I was surprised to read Dr. Michael Haberman's admonition to psychiatrists to participate in the “evolution of the health care reimbursement system,” implying that managed care organizations (MCOs) are somehow the solution. He should know that MCOs are the problem, not the solution. Hasn't he read the recent studies that show that over 30 percent of the health care dollar is wasted on managed care and insurance company profits and bureaucracy? Add to that the time we all spend trying to justify treatment of our patients and submitting “treatment plans.”

It is time for all of us, including APA, to embrace and advocate for a single-partypayer, universal-coverage system like all other industrialized countries on the planet have. We could save enough to cover everyone by just eliminating the bureaucracies of the insurance companies and MCOs.