I am looking for a widely-accepted, detailed definition of the term
"cost containment" as that term is used in medical benefit plans.  I
would like to know what measures are considered to be "cost
containment" measures that medical benefit providers, like an
insurance company would use.  I have found various one line
definitions and these are of no use to me.

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Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 08 May 2003 09:31 PDT

I have found one PDF file online that gives a paragraph-long
definition of cost containment. Would this do, and would links to cost
containment plans of some medical organizations suffice for you?

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Clarification of Question by madeiradog-ga on 08 May 2003 10:41 PDT

Short answer: Yes.  

It sounds like the pdf file might be useful, depending on the source.
If the source is well known or an industry leader that would be good. 
I am not sure if the links to cost containment plans would be helpful,
but if they demonstrate what cost containment measures are taken that
would be helpful.

Greetings Madeiradog,
I have searched over the Internet for possible sources defining “Cost
containment” but that single PDF document by the Building Institutions
for Good Governance seems to be the only definition that exceeds a
one-liner. I suppose the source is a reputable one, so this definition
can be believed. I included a glossary from a health insurance website
with a one-line definition for comparison.

Building Institutions for Good Governance - Cost Containment chapter
http://www.icma.or.id/PDF/edisi%209%20ing%20web.pdf

Health Insurance Definitions
http://www.healthsymphony.com/insurancedefinitions.htm


It was quite easy though to find medical organizations that listed
their Cost Containment Measures. Most of them are Adobe Acrobat PDFs
though, so I guess you’ll take some time to download them. May I
suggest using a download manager such as Gozilla or Getright to
prevent starting over again when inadvertently cut off during a
download.

Measures:
Medicaid Cost Containment Measures Implemented: 1985 - Present
http://www.dmas.state.va.us/downloads/Stats_02/Chapter_12/CMI.pdf

The Irish Health Care System: Cost Containment Measure during the
1980s and 1990s
http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/lsehsc/papers/Discussion_Papers/dp11.pdf

Cost-Containment Measures - Wellmark
http://www.wellmark.com/products/employers/costcontain.htm

Cost-Containment in Health Care: The Case of Spain from the Eighties
up to 1997
http://netec.mcc.ac.uk/WoPEc/data/Papers/upfupfses278.html

Cost Containment in Eye Care
http://www.jceh.co.uk/journal/37_2.asp

Clark County Outlines Short-Term Cost-Containment Measures for UMC
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/Public_communications/UMC_cost_containment.htm

Pennsylvania Health Care - Quality Initiatives - Cost Containment
Strategies for Purchasers
http://www.phc4.org/adobe/phc4fyi10.pdf

Special Terms And Conditions - Arizona Health Care Cost Containment
System (AHCCCS)
http://cms.hhs.gov/hifa/tc1211.pdf


Other Possibly helpful links: 

Cost Containment Cookbook for public school construction
http://www.cashnet.org/membersonly/Handouts/ws6i.htm

Cost Containment Measures And Impacts In Six Departments Of Correction
http://www.nicic.org/pubs/1994/011675.pdf

IMS Health - Government Cost-Containment Measures Will Restrict Pharma
Growth
http://www.ims-global.com/insight/news_story/news_story_000317c.htm

Book: Cost Containment in Healthcare
http://www.urchpublishing.com/costcontainment.htm

Alberta Medical Association - Cost Constainment links 
http://www.albertadoctors.org/resources/policies/costcontainment.html

Cost Containment - Small Business Guide
http://www.aiha-rms.org/smallbusiness/cost.htm


Google search words used: 
"cost containment" definition
cost containment measures
cost containment measures medical
"what is" "cost containment"

I hope this has been a most satisfactory answer for you. If you have
any problem with it, do post a request for clarification describing
the problem, and I shall respond. Thank you.

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Request for Answer Clarification by madeiradog-ga on 09 May 2003 11:15 PDT

Techtor,

Thanks for your research.  Unfortunately, the definition in the
Building Institutions for Good Governance does not relate to medical
benefit plans, and consequently, is of no use.  What I was looking for
is an expansion on the defintion as contained in the Health Insurance
Definitions http://www.healthsymphony.com/insurancedefinitions.htm. 
If you were unable to find a longer definition, were there other brief
definitions like the one at healthsymphony?  If so, it would be
helpful to see those.  If not, just let me know.

The listing of the medical cost containment measures taken by
organizations may be very valuable to me in the long run and I thank
you for your excellent research on those items.

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Clarification of Answer by techtor-ga on 09 May 2003 18:12 PDT

Just to let you know that I've received your Request for Clarification
and I will look for additional information.

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Clarification of Answer by techtor-ga on 09 May 2003 22:58 PDT

Greetings Madeiradog, 
I was able to find at least one other definition of cost containment,
but it seems to be an opinion-based kind and is also one-line. The
other two that follow are not related to the health industry, but
their definitions may apply if the terms are changed. I hope they'll
do.

Other Definitions:

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas - Cost Containment
http://www.bcbsks.com/about_us/containment.htm

CU-Boulder Cost Containment Reporting Guidelines | PBA
http://www.colorado.edu/pba/budget/cost/guidelines.htm

Earnhart & Associates - Library: A Publication by Steven Earnhart
http://www.earnhart.com/articles/article18.htm


I also found other possible examples of cost containment measures.
Hope they'll be a worthy consolation since I couldn't find exactly
what you need:

Health Policy Tracking Service - 
http://www.hpts.org/info/info.nsf/9467d5427e7f172d852563e20082960a/ce87b036fa17cbe28525669f007c700d?OpenDocument

Cost Containment and Health Care Reform
http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/lsehsc/papers/Discussion_Papers/op2.pdf

NGA Center for Best Practices - Health Care Cost Containment 
http://www.nga.org/center/topics/1,1188,D_5122,00.html

Search Terms used:
cost containment define
cost containment health definition
cost containment defined

Thanks again.

Thanks for all your efforts.

Thank you as well for the 5-star rating! I am pleased to have served you in this. :)