The relative emphasis upon physician practice and organizational affairs of a consumer council in a prepaid group practice health plan.
This paper examines the topics of interest to a consumer advisory council in the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, a prepaid group practice. Data are derived from observations of consumer council meetings. Topics considered by the council dealt with (a) health plan services, (b) health plan structure, and (c) consumer council structure, process, and organizational role. The council was primarily interested in retaining and expanding existing services, facilitating utilization of services by enrollees, and achieving broader enrollee representation on the board of directors. These interests are directed toward the organizational context within which care is provided and do not relate to physician-patient encounters. Individual enrollees in prepaid group practice may be concerned with the physician-client relationship but consumer representatives are concerned only with the organization-client relationship.