Approximately one-quarter of the U.S. population is enrolled in HMOs or similar managed care health plans, and the proportion is increasing. But even though such plans dominate today's agenda for health care reform, good, quantitative information on the performance of managed care programs is scarce. In Promise and Performance in Managed Care, Donald Freeborn and Clyde Pope draw on the research literature and unique data sources to provide that information.

Focusing on the human experience of managed care, the authors examine the effects of managed care on members as well as...