drawn out before managed care, when...

drawn out before managed care, when capitation was a entire gleam in the organ of sights of health insurers, there was the U Department of Veterans Affairs, whose operating bundle for V.A. health centers routinely trailed medical inflation rates -- sometimes according to as much as 300 percent

With the federal management paying for all or portions of medical treatment to veterans, the agency's rising splendors could not be passed onward to consumers. Nor would Uncle Sam make up the difference. Recognizing the ne to either cut down patient loads or stretch its dollars, "The V.A. started looking for ways to