Commentators on U.S. health care policy have noted that the relative weakness of government institutions has left the allocation and financing of health care services to powerful interest groups. Until recently, the actions of state organizations as a major explanation for the organization of the market was seldom used. This dissertation evaluates the efficacy of a state centered approach to explaining Florida's health care politics. / Florida is used as a case study because of the dynamics of its economy, politics, and demography and its effect on the state's health care issues. Four questions guide the research. First, what are the State of Florida's interests in the market? Second, what strategies have state organizations pursued in Florida's interests? Third, to what degree do non-state organizations influence the development of the legislation? Finally, what conditions facilitate the involvement of Florida's state organizations in the health care services market? / Legislation regarding the enactment and continuance of Florida's Medicaid program, Florida's strategy for financing uncompensated hospital care, the financial arrangements for purchasing services, Florida's certificate of need licensing program, and Florida's regulation of hospital budgets is examined over a 28 year period, 1965 to 1993. / The investigation found that the interests of the State, defined by well accepted principles of its appropriate role, were strong enough to enable state agencies to successfully promote legislation authorizing and expanding Florida's Medicaid and indigent hospital care programs. Furthermore, on behalf of Florida's economic interests as a payer in the health care market, state agencies were successful in promoting legislation for alternative financial arrangements than fee for service and legislation regulating the capacity of the industry to produce health care services. / State agencies were successful in promoting these strategies when the interests of influential health care provider organizations were fragmented and, in some circumstances, when these organizations were united in their opposition to legislation promoting state strategies. In these circumstances, state agencies' efforts, influenced by federal monetary incentives, federal policy examples, and other state policy examples, set the agenda for the development of these strategies, not policy initiatives developed in the Legislature. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-03, Section: A, page: 1344. / Major Professor: Allen Imershein. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1996.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77669 |
| Contributors | Harkreader, Steve Alan., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 207 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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