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Consumers with High-Deductible Health Plans Could Be Smarter Shoppers

Lisa Rapaport  |  

“We know consumers respond to high deductibles by reducing care and that consumers don’t necessarily do a good job discriminating between necessary and unnecessary care,” says Joel Segel, a health policy researcher at Pennsylvania State University who wasn’t involved in the study.

Patients with these plans should have health savings accounts, especially if they have chronic health problems that they know will require them to pay a lot of money out of pocket in the future, Segel says by email.

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“Patients should also know that if they are having difficulty meeting their medical bills that providers may be willing and have options for negotiations and helping patients afford their care,” Segel adds.

These plans also aren’t for everyone, and some people may be better off choosing insurance with higher monthly premiums but lower and less confusing out-of-pocket costs, says Dr. Franklin Wharam, a health policy and insurance researcher at Harvard Medical School in Boston who wasn’t involved in the study.

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“Consumers with the time, interest, and resources to shop for good value in health care might thrive under high-deductible health plans,” Wharam says by email. “Others should consider their health benefit type carefully [if their employer offers choices] and choose the plan that optimizes their health and financial situation.”

Reference

  1. Kullgren JT, Cliff EQ, Krenz C, et al. Consumer behaviors among individuals enrolled in high-deductible health plans in the United States. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Nov 27. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.6622. [Epub ahead of print]

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