Social Contract Theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Contract Theory - Research Paper Example The social contract theory examines the notion of political legitimacy, which states that human beings have no ultimate right to exercise power over each other until the parties involved have mutual consent in an agreement (Rawls 223). According to the social contract theory, a natural basis for morality can be provided by the need for social order. The interaction between people forms the basis for certain incentives within the social system, which determine the peaceful coexistence between people in society. Social contract theory calls for the formation of certain agreements and follows some fundamental rules while at the same time treating each other with a lot of respect. Based on the social contract theory, humans find it beneficial to enter into some form of social contracts that will guide their moral judgments. Without such a contract, people would not exist peacefully as their interaction with one another would be disorderly (Rawls 225). The social contract theory also holds the view that the political, social, and moral obligations of a person largely borrow from the agreements they have made in their society. The modern political and moral theory is related to the social contract theory. In a nutshell, the social contract theory mainly focuses on the consensus that should emanate from explicit consent between several players in an agreement. The consent should be between people who reason properly and no one should be coerced to enter into an agreement. Social contract theorists, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, strived to explain consensus with his explanation of the â€Å"general will.† For Rousseau, the social contract theory involves entering into a contract based on the collective interest of the entire group rather than focusing on the interests of a few individuals. The will of an individual should be appropriated with the interests of the entire group so as to

Managed Care and Psychotherapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managed Care and Psychotherapy - Essay Example It rapidly spread to health insurance industry in private sector. It relies upon and effort to control ever increasing health care costs by health insurance industry, which fixes a reasonable fee. Health care provides charge for their services. Thanks to managed care facilities provided by health insurance industry, medical inflation rate decreased drastically in 1990's in U.S. But right now the effect looks like it has ended abruptly and U.S. medical inflation is beginning to rise steeply. Psychotherapy in its traditional form is being challenged due to managed care pressures. Managed care is not needful for psychiatric patients as it creates many hindrances to the consumer in the early steps of treatment. Managed care makes the psychotherapy sessions completely transparent, when it is supposed to be undisclosed. There are pros and cons. Managed care in psychotherapy is significantly a bane to the consumers. Psychotherapy always requires long number of sessions but due to pressure from insurance companies, psychotherapists reduce the number of sessions. It is the indirect supervision of the financial management of a consumer's medical care performed by the ultimate reimbursement entity, commonly known as the payer.' Payers use utilization review'-a medical professional oversees the treating physician's decisions to determine if the most financially efficient method is being used. In the optimistic view, managed care offers coordinated, integrated systems of care that emphasize prevention and cost restraints. But actually managed care leads to limited access, lack of choice and, sometimes, limitation of care. O'Hara, M. (1997) reports: Nowhere are the concrete consequences of the rising levels of cultural incoherence more visible than within the community of psychotherapists. Therapeutic psychology and its spin-offs, clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, psychiatric nursing, and organizational behavior, are disintegrating as academic disciplines and as fields of professional practice. The field of psychology and the individuals who inhabit it are in the midst of theoretical, epistemological, methodological, and ethical meltdown. Pluralism in graduate school training, discussions about licensing and credentialing, variations in clinical theory and practice, debates about the status of psychological knowledge as science and as evidence in courts of law, shifting definitions of ethical and unethical behavior, and proliferation of antitherapist consumer protection laws are just some of the ways the postmodern crisis is already affecting the field. And it will get worse. Psychotherapists get into prescription business and provide pills. They are likely to have very less interaction with consumer and hinder the normal process of psychotherapy. Managed care minimizes the professional secrecy. As primary care physician refers the consumer to a specialist psychotherapist. Managed care programs that are commonly used are, as listed by Kuhl, V. (1994): Health Maintenance organization (HMO): In this a federally qualified HMO in exchange for a subscriber fee (Premium) allows members to access to a panel of employed physicians and facilities, including hospitals. In return HMO receives mandated market access and receives federal development funds. In HMO plan, a member is assigned a "Gatekeeper", a primary care physician (PCP) who takes care of members assigned to him. To avail specialty services like a specialist