Author : John A. MacDonald
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (137 download)
Book Synopsis Outlook for Consumer/Patient Engagement in Health Care -- 30 Years Into the Experiment by : John A. MacDonald
Download or read book Outlook for Consumer/Patient Engagement in Health Care -- 30 Years Into the Experiment written by John A. MacDonald and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper summarizes highlights from the Employee Benefit Research Institute's (EBRI) December 2008 policy forum, titled "Outlook for Consumer/Patient Engagement in Health Care--30 Years into the Experiment," which took a detailed look at consumer-directed health plans and related issues. Policy forum participants heard two very different presentations on the prospects for consumer-directed plans. One speaker was optimistic, saying consumer-directed plans have worked because individuals in these plans have substituted less expensive care for more expensive care in order to minimize their out-of-pocket costs. Another speaker was skeptical, saying consumerism will have a "marginal impact" but will not solve the problem of rising health care costs. Two speakers discussed value-based insurance design in which employers attempt to tailor their health plans to balance the demonstrated value of a service against its cost. Value-based design encourages consumers to use health services when the clinical benefits exceed the cost and at the same time discourages the use of services when the benefits do not justify the cost. Value-based design seeks to influence consumer behavior by linking co-payments to the use of a clinically demonstrated benefit, while consumer-driven health plans use tax-sheltered accounts for much the same purpose. Value-based design is still relatively limited in use, shows some cost-saving potential, but questions about the concept remain, the speakers said.