The Final Paper must have depth of scholarship, originality, theoretical and conceptual framework, clarity and logic in its presentation and adhere to grammar guidelines. You will select a topic for your Final Paper related to the Future of Managed Health Care Delivery Systems, which will be submitted to your instructor for approval during Week Two.  The 10-15 page paper (excluding title and reference pages) must follow APA guidelines for written assignments and contain eight to ten scholarly and/ or peer-reviewed sources, excluding the course textbook.  

Your paper must address the following bolded topics, which should be titled appropriately in your paper:

1. Include an Abstract which is a synopsis of the overall paper.  
2. Managed Health Care Quality should address such factors as whether or not patient health care needs and even preferences are being met; the care is right for the illness, care is timely, and unnecessary test and procedures are not ordered.
3. Provider Contracting is when doctors and health care practitioners have a contract agreement through a third party payer to accept a specified payment for services provided to patients.
4. Cost Containment deals with managing the costs of doing business within a specified budget while restraining expenditures to meet a specified financial target.
5. Effects on Medicare and Medicaid in managed health care appear to be moving in a direction where both types of recipients will be enrolled in some type of managed health care plan in the near future.  
6. The Future Role of Government Regulations, to include ERISA and HIPAA health care policies.
7. Include Three Recommendations each, related to quality and change in Medicare and Medicaid managed health care plans.

Writing the Final Paper

1. Must be ten- to fifteen double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Must have a cover page that includes:
   1. Title of paper
   2. Student’s name
   3. Course name and number
   4. Instructor’s name
   5. Date submitted
3. Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
6. Must use at least eight scholarly and /or peer-reviewed sources, published within the last five years, including a minimum of three from the Ashford University Online Library.
7. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
8. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.