Review of \u3cem\u3eThe Rise and Fall of HMOs: An American Health Care Revolution.\u3c/em\u3e Jan Gregoire Coombs. Reviewed by Lisa S. Patchner.

Book review of Jan Gregoire Coombs, The Rise and Fall of HMOs: An American Health Care Revolution. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2005. $35.00 hardcover

Social Work Practice and People with Disabilities: Our Future Selves

During the past fifty years a revolution in how we recognize advocate, medically treat, and interact with people with disabilities has taken place within contemporary society. From historical civil rights legislation to greater access to society’s rights and benefits, to technological advances and population longevity, people with disabilities are integrating themselves into society. As we begin to explore the 21st Century new concerns regarding the cost of chronic care and society’s desire to fund these costs are beginning to emerge. The desire to qualify the cost of care by functional longevity has begun to emerge in both private and public service delivery systems. As professional social workers begin to expand their sociopolitical influence, they will be challenged to uphold the rights of self-determination that people with disabilities have striven to attain

In the Belly of the Beast: A Case Study of Social Work in a Managed Care Organization

The employment of social workers within managed care organizations is a new phenomenon. As such, this case study utilized an exploratory-descriptive design that assessed social workers as case managers within a Medicaid HMO. The semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observation suggested that the use of case management services, delivered primarily by social workers,was effective in addressing the bio-psychosocial needs of Medicaid consumers within a provider-driven HMO. Study findings recommend specific knowledge and skills that social workers need in order to prepare for practice within managed care environments