Cost-sharing and the patient's choice of provider / M. Susan Marquis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marquis, M. Susan.

Series:

R (Rand Corporation)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medical care--Ohio--Dayton--Cost control.

Medical care.

Medical care--Washington (State)--Seattle--Cost control.

Health insurance--Ohio--Dayton--Finance.

Health insurance.

Health insurance--Washington (State)--Seattle--Finance.

Medical fees--Ohio--Dayton.

Medical fees.

Medical fees--Washington (State)--Seattle.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 38 pages).

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : RAND Corporation, [1984]

Summary:

Consumer cost-sharing in health insurance is advocated by some as a means of containing rising health care costs. There is strong evidence that cost-sharing reduces the quantity of medical care demanded. Cost-sharing, it is argued, also may encourage consumers to search for lower-priced providers of care which, in turn, would encourage price competition among physicians as they try to attract or retain patients. This report analyzes two measures of choice of provider: a categorical variable representing the specialty type of provider from which the patient sought care, and a variable measuring the relative costliness or prices of the chosen provider. The author concludes that the preliminary results provide scant reason to believe that cost-sharing will lead consumers to search for lower-cost providers of care and thereby enhance the competitiveness of the medical market.

Notes:

"Prepared under a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services."

"September 1984."