The American health care system has undergone tremendous transformation over the past few decades. The fee-for-service (FFS) health care system in which physicians enjoyed a great deal of autonomy has become a managed care system in which cost and utilization considerations play a larger role in physician decision making. Although physicians and other health care professionals are still patient advocates, this role often results in a conflict between their own economic interests and their duties to their patients.
Rather than depending on self-sacrificing health care professionals to advocate for them, patients need to assert their own power in the managed care arena. One way to gain such power is to use the class action device in litigation aimed at improving medical care quality, cost and access. Class actions, in fact, are likely to proliferate as managed care organizations (MCOs) grow and affect more patients’ lives. There are well-recognized dangers to using the class action device, but if used properly, it could prove a valuable remedy for patients.