Why hasn’t “consumer-driven” health care worked?
“Consumer-driven” health care oversimplifies the problem. How can we expect consumers to navigate the system when the doctors can’t do it? Consumers cannot offset or counteract the dysfunctional competition in the current system. They cannot direct their own care in a system with fractured care cycles, constrained networks, and prices that depend on who is paying rather than on what care is being delivered. Without results information and competition centered on improving results at the medical condition level over the care cycle, consumers will not be able to identify good value or make good choices about necessary services. Shifting more of the financial burden to the consumers will not transform the system. Higher co-pays or HSAs themselves do nothing to improve value. Instead, they run the risk of cost-shifting in the guise of “empowering the consumer,” and skimping on “discretionary” preventive or disease management services but not acute care.
Related Questions
- Has the district worked cooperatively with other districts and government bodies to control health care costs?
- I’m thinking about a health care career even though I’ve never worked in health care. Is Greentree right for me?
- Ive never worked on a health care quality report before. Where should I start?
