Consumers with high-deductible health plans do not appear to be more motivated to shop around for less expensive, higher quality medical care than those with lower-deductible plans, according to a study by Anna Sinaiko, research scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues.
The findings were published online in a research letter January 19, 2016 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
It’s been thought that consumers paying more of their own money for health care – or having “skin in the game,” as the authors described it – would want to shop around. However, the authors’ Internet survey of about 2,000 adults with either high-deductible or lower-deductible health plans found only about 10% of those in each group reported considering other doctors the last time they purchased medical care. Only about 4% compared costs.
“Simply increasing a deductible, which gives enrollees skin in the game, appears insufficient to facilitate price shopping,” the authors wrote. The authors found a need for “greater availability of price information” and “innovative approaches” to make information easier for consumers to use.
Learn more
Read the JAMA Internal Medicine research letter: Cost-Sharing Obligations, High-Deductible Health Plan Growth, and Shopping for Health Care Enrollees With Skin in the Game
Read a January 19, 2015 Kaiser Health News article on the letter: Even With ‘Skin In The Game,’ Health Care Shoppers Are Not More Savvy