Impact of Managed Care on Private Practice Psychologists: Florida Study

A modified version of a questionnaire previously distributed to New Jersey psychologists was used to survey Florida licensed psychologists to determine how managed care has affected their practices. Overall, 60% of respondents claimed practice income had increased over the past three years, 21% reported-a decrease, and 19% indicated no change. Only 27% denied any managed care affiliation. Managed care affiliated psychologists (MCS) reported on average that 18% of referrals and 27% of annual practice income came from managed care systems. Although practice income was higher (p\u3c .02) among MCs than non-affiliated practitioners, this finding was strongly confounded since MCs were more commonly (p\u3c .01) in full time practice (69%) than non-affiliated clinicians (42%). No significant differences were found between MCs and other practitioners in proportions reporting an increase, decrease, or no change in practice income over the past three years. Discussion of findings highlights the possible implications of differential practice patterns observed between MC and NMC psychologists