Experts: One size should not fit all when it comes to our out-of-pocket health care costs
By a
But a pair of experts who have studied this trend see a lost opportunity to give you - and all health care consumers -- the right incentives to use the services that are most likely to improve your health.
Rather than charging all patients the same amount for every doctor visit, diagnostic test, and prescription drug, out-of-pocket costs should be based on how much a specific clinical service improves health, say
In a new JAMA article, they lay out key steps that public and private insurance providers could take to alter consumer cost-sharing from 'one-size-fits-all' to a more 'clinically nuanced' model, based on individual patient and provider factors.
Their piece, commissioned by the
Fendrick, a professor in
They've documented that when people are asked to pay more for medical care, they often skip or skimp on the clinician visits, diagnostic tests and treatments they need to stay healthy. And that skipping of recommended care can adversely affect health, worsen health disparities, and in some cases, increase total spending.
Their JAMA piece points to specific changes to encourage value-based cost-sharing. They propose:
"Increasing health care spending has created serious challenges for purchasers in the
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