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"Mark W. Jordan, a lawyer at Kaiser Permanente, said Medicare officials had gone far beyond the terms of the 1990 law in requiring disclosures to patients and the Government. "Why should a managed care physician be required to advertise that he or she might reduce services to increase income?"
July 8, 1996"


In July 1995, the Kaiser Permanente H.M.O. in Ohio told its doctors that they needed to get authorization for certain procedures from an outside company, Health Risk Management (H.R.M.), which had a detailed set of medical guidelines defining appropriate treatments for various conditions. Kaiser, in a directive since rescinded, told its doctors not to give patients information about the proposed treatment without getting authorization. It also told the them not to identify the organization that was reviewing the patients' cases:

Do not discuss proposed treatment with Kaiser Permanente members prior to receiving authorization.

Do not discuss the H.R.M. process with members.

Do not give out H.R.M. phone number to members.

This clause, found in the contract of Choice Care in Cincinnati, would seem to limit what a physician can say about his patients' health care plan. The language has been revised.......
September 22, 1996

A recent notice to doctors working for the Kaiser Permanente H.M.O. in Ohio says, "Do not discuss proposed treatment with Kaiser Permanente members prior to receiving authorization" from an outside company that sets guidelines for the treatment of patients. In addition, it says that doctors should not discuss the procedure by which they get such authorization.

Asked about this instruction, Jenny M. Hovinen, a spokeswoman for Kaiser Permanente of Ohio, said, "It's a very unfortunate statement, isn't it?" But she said it was part of an elaborate effort to guarantee high-quality care by making sure doctors were aware of the best treatments before discussing them with patients.
December 21, 1995

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