Since when has managed care been around?

Managed care has its roots in the 1930s, primarily with the development of health maintenance organization (HMO) models. The approach was initially established to provide organized, pre-paid health care to workers, particularly among labor unions and industrial employees. One of the earliest examples is the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, which was formed in 1937, serving as a model for later managed care systems.

Starting in the 1970s, managed care began to gain widespread recognition and adoption as a response to rising health care costs, leading to more structured systems designed to manage cost, utilization, and quality of care. However, it was the foundational principles set in the 1930s that laid the groundwork for developed managed care systems to evolve into what we see today. Thus, recognizing the 1930s as the timeframe for the origins of managed care is essential, as it highlights how historical frameworks continue to influence contemporary health care practices.