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Patient cost sharing: how much is too much?
Issue Brief (Center for Studying Health System Change)
|December 31, 2003
Summary
Employers are shifting more healthcare costs to employees through higher deductibles and copays. This increases financial burdens, especially for sick and low-income workers, potentially limiting this cost-saving strategy.
Area of Science:
- Health Economics
- Healthcare Policy
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Rising health insurance premiums are a significant concern for employers.
- Employers are seeking strategies to control escalating healthcare benefit costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the impact of increased patient cost-sharing on out-of-pocket expenses.
- To assess the financial burden of cost-sharing on vulnerable employee populations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of employer strategies for restructuring health benefits.
- Examination of patient cost-sharing mechanisms (deductibles, copayments, coinsurance).
Main Results:
- Increased patient cost-sharing directly raises out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures.
- Seriously ill and low-income workers face disproportionately higher financial burdens.
- Concerns regarding financial hardship may restrict the use of cost-sharing as a cost-containment tool.
Conclusions:
- Employer efforts to mitigate rising health insurance costs through increased patient cost-sharing have significant financial implications.
- The financial strain on employees, particularly those with serious illnesses or low incomes, presents a challenge to this strategy.
- Further research is needed to balance cost containment with employee financial well-being.