Even With ‘Skin In The Game,’ Health Care Shoppers Are Not More Savvy

(By – Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News)

It’s long been argued that if consumers are shopping with their own money, they will be savvier in their choices of services and doctors. But a research letter published Tuesday highlights a need for “greater availability of price information” as well as “innovative approaches” to make information easier for consumers to use.

The research letter, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, was based on an Internet-based survey of insured adults who had purchased medical care in the past year.

The researchers questioned nearly 2,000 respondents about what factors they considered when making choices. The survey included 1,099 people with high-deductible health plans — those that typically have lower monthly premiums but require individuals to pay more than $1,250 out of pocket before their insurance will kick in — as well as 852 people with more traditional forms of coverage. Read more…

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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