Awareness of and compliance with recommended screening procedures: a comparison of HMO and fee-for-service enrollees.

Managed care organizations, particularly HMOs, have emphasized disease prevention and early detection (screening) programs as a component of high-quality, cost-effective medical care. Studies in the 1980s found higher levels of utilization of screening by HMO enrollees compared with individuals enrolled in fee-for-service (FFS) plans, although this pattern is less clear in more recent reports. This paper reports on an analysis of a survey designed to determine awareness, compliance, and potential barriers to participating in common screening tests by adults living in Hillsborough County (greater Tampa), Florida. A random digit--dialing telephone survey of a stratified random sample of 500 adults over 18 years of age was conducted. Health plan enrollees were found to be younger, more likely to receive health insurance through an employer, and were more likely to have a regular source of health care. Few statistically significant differences, however, were detected in awareness of or compliance with recommended screening procedures between HMO and FFS enrollees in the study. Consistent with other recent research, these findings suggest that the changing nature of managed care, from traditional staff models toward IPA or network-hybrid models, has somewhat reduced HMOs' influence on prevention and screening services.