
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 27, 1990                   TAG: 9003272119
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

LEADERS OPPOSE NATIONAL HEALTH PLAN, SURVEY SAYS

A majority of the nation's top business leaders oppose national health insurance, preferring instead a system of managed health care to control spiraling medical costs for their companies, according to a survey released Monday by the Health Insurance Association of America.

The survey of 100 top executives from the nation's largest corporations showed that 94 percent opposed national health insurance, while 68 percent said they believed managed health care programs could be effective.

Under a managed-care program, sometimes referred to as preferred provider organizations, employees are restricted to using only a selected group of doctors and hospitals picked by the employer. The doctors and hospitals contract with the company to provide services at a specific cost.

Several major firms, such as Marriott Corp., Sears, Roebuck & Co., Allied-Signal Inc. and American Telephone & Telegraph Co., have begun to experiment with managed health care plans.

"There is great enthusiasm and hope for managed care," said HIAA President Carl J. Schramm, whose members would be among the biggest economic losers if the government financed health care through a national health insurance program. He said managed care would impose a "system of discipline" on the medical world.

Although the survey showed enthusiasm for managed care, Schramm said it was really too early to tell just how effective it might be in controlling costs.

"It's important to understand that managed care is in its infancy," he said. "I think managed care will be the insurance story of the '90s. It puts us in an active role we've never played before."

HIAA represents 320 companies providing health insurance to 94 million workers. Managed care would give insurance companies a greater role in health care at a time when many major corporations have become self-insured.

Schramm said he ordered the survey after becoming concerned that people might believe that Chrysler Chairman Lee Iaccoca speaks for U.S. business when he advocates some form of government health plan to deal with rising health care costs.

In the survey, conducted for HIAA by the Roper Organization, corporate executives were asked if they supported a government-operated national health insurance plan.

The survey did not refer to a proposal, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., currently before Congress that would mandate coverage for the 37 million workers and their dependents who have no health insurance. That proposal would maintain a large role for private insurance carriers.

by CNB