Essay On Managed Care

Prior to this presentation I had not heard much about managed care or thought about how it related to the field of counseling. I learned that managed care was created to help control the cost of health care by requiring most services to be approved in advance before a person can receive them. This cost containment is important because before this the medical assistance population was taking up over twenty percent of the state budget for their medical care. Managed care is more effective because it stretches the state budget dollars farther. It also allows complaints on poor quality services to be heard and provides a larger network of providers to choose from to clients. Managed care affects the profession of counseling because many low income individuals may be limited to …show more content…
When we first went over this model in class I was confused by what types of services would be categorized into what quadrants. Working on our group project throughout the semester really helped to clarify and solidify this model in my mind. Direct community services would include things such as awareness and education groups on certain mental health topics at locations throughout the community such as college campuses or senior health care facilities. Advocating for changes in the media or for changes in laws that would benefit clients would be an example of indirect community services. Finally, regular individual therapy sessions would be an example of direct client services. Learning about this model has helped me to develop and change my view of myself as a counselor, because it has made me realize how much more there is to the field than just individual counseling. I need to be well rounded in the future and also be aware of the kinds of preventative care I can be involved in and the many ways I can advocate for my clients as