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The effect of managed health care systems on employee benefit satisfaction, affective and behavioral outcomes
Abstract
In previous years the dominant focus of research in employee health benefit plans has been the investigation of the financial impact of various managed health care cost containment strategies such as wellness programs, employee assistance programs (EAPs), adding deductibles and co-pays to plans, employee cost sharing, utilization review, outpatient incentives, use of Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), and mandatory second opinions. A wealth of anecdotal information exists in which employees relate how these cost containment measures are affecting their lives at work and home. The present study focused on the effect of managed health care on employee benefit satisfaction, job satisfaction, affective and normative commitment, propensity to quit, perceptions of distributive and procedural justice and on behavioral outcomes such as increased absenteeism or decreased productivity. Questionnaire responses from a sample of 124 lower managed health care employees and 366 highly managed health care employees measured their perceptions, attitudes and self-reported behavior in regard to health plan equity, quality, convenience and the procedural justice of the change processes. Correlational analysis, multiple regression, and t-tests were used to assess the direct and indirect relationships between the variables. The findings suggest that organizations that implement strict health care cost containment measures, particularly cost sharing and co-pays, are more likely to experience reduced loyalty, motivation, productivity, benefit satisfaction, and affective commitment. Furthermore, increased absenteeism, unnecessary sick days, increased union activity, chronic complaining and company theft are costly responses the organization is likely to experience. The following conclusions are drawn: the fairness of health benefits and the interpersonal context within which health benefit changes are made, have a significant impact on employee benefit satisfaction.
Subject Area
Management|Occupational psychology|Behaviorial sciences|Public health
Recommended Citation
Davis, Elaine Marilyn, "The effect of managed health care systems on employee benefit satisfaction, affective and behavioral outcomes" (1992). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9233397.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9233397