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Ramezani M, Takian A, Bakhtiari A, Rabiee HR, Fazaeli AA, Sazgarnejad S. The application of artificial intelligence in health financing: a scoping review. COST EFFECTIVENESS AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION 2023; 21:83. [PMID: 37932778 PMCID: PMC10626800 DOI: 10.1186/s12962-023-00492-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents a significant advancement in technology, and it is crucial for policymakers to incorporate AI thinking into policies and to fully explore, analyze and utilize massive data and conduct AI-related policies. AI has the potential to optimize healthcare financing systems. This study provides an overview of the AI application domains in healthcare financing. METHOD We conducted a scoping review in six steps: formulating research questions, identifying relevant studies by conducting a comprehensive literature search using appropriate keywords, screening titles and abstracts for relevance, reviewing full texts of relevant articles, charting extracted data, and compiling and summarizing findings. Specifically, the research question sought to identify the applications of artificial intelligence in health financing supported by the published literature and explore potential future applications. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched between 2000 and 2023. RESULTS We discovered that AI has a significant impact on various aspects of health financing, such as governance, revenue raising, pooling, and strategic purchasing. We provide evidence-based recommendations for establishing and improving the health financing system based on AI. CONCLUSIONS To ensure that vulnerable groups face minimum challenges and benefit from improved health financing, we urge national and international institutions worldwide to use and adopt AI tools and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Ramezani
- Department of Health Management, Policy and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Health Equity Research Centre (HERC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amirhossein Takian
- Department of Health Management, Policy and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Health Equity Research Centre (HERC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Department of Global Health and Public Policy, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Ahad Bakhtiari
- Department of Global Health and Public Policy, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamid R Rabiee
- Department of Computer Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Akbar Fazaeli
- Department of Health Management, Policy and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Saharnaz Sazgarnejad
- School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Shafer PR, Dusetzina SB, Sabik LM, Platts-Mills TF, Stearns SC, Trogdon JG. High Deductible Health Plans and Use of Free Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act. INQUIRY : A JOURNAL OF MEDICAL CARE ORGANIZATION, PROVISION AND FINANCING 2023; 60:469580231182512. [PMID: 37329296 DOI: 10.1177/00469580231182512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The Affordable Care Act aimed to increase use of preventive services by eliminating cost-sharing to consumers. However, patients may be unaware of this benefit or they may not seek preventive services if they anticipate that the cost of potential diagnostic or treatment services will be too high, both more likely among those in high deductible health plans. We used nationally representative private health insurance claims (100% sample of IBM® MarketScan®) for the United States from 2006 to 2018, restricting the data to enrollment and claims for non-elderly adults who were enrolled for the full plan year. The cross-sectional sample (185 million person-years) is used to describe trends in preventive service use and costs from 2008 through 2016. The cohort sample (9 million people) focuses on the elimination of cost-sharing for certain high-value preventive services in late 2010, requiring continuous enrollment across 2010 and 2011. We examine whether HDHP enrollment is associated with use of eligible preventive services using semi-parametric difference-in-differences to account for endogenous plan selection. Our preferred model implies that HDHP enrollment was associated with a reduction of the post-ACA change in any use of eligible preventive services by 0.2 percentage points or 12.5%. Cancer screenings were unaffected but HDHP enrollment was associated with smaller increases in wellness visits, immunizations, and screening for chronic conditions and sexually transmitted infections. We also find that the policy was ineffective at reducing out-of-pocket costs for the eligible preventive services, likely due to implementation issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul R Shafer
- Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Lindsay M Sabik
- School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Sally C Stearns
- Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Justin G Trogdon
- Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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Nguyen OT, McCormick R, Patel K, Reblin M, Kim L, Hume E, Powers B, Otto A, Alishahi Tabriz A, Islam J, Hong Y, Kirchhoff AC, Turner K. Health insurance literacy among head and neck cancer patients and their caregivers: A cross-sectional pilot study. Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol 2022; 7:1820-1829. [PMID: 36544972 PMCID: PMC9764792 DOI: 10.1002/lio2.940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Health insurance literacy interventions may reduce financial burden and its effects on cancer patients and their caregivers. However, little is known about the health insurance literacy levels of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients and their caregivers. We assessed the feasibility of screening for health insurance literacy in a pilot study and described the health insurance literacy levels of HNC patients and their caregivers. Methods We administered a survey that assessed demographics and subjective and objective health insurance literacy to HNC patients and their caregivers. Subjective health insurance literacy was measured through the Health Insurance Literacy Measure (score range: 0-84). Objective health insurance literacy was measured through correct answers to a previously developed 10-question knowledge test. Due to a small sample size, inferential statistics were not used; we instead descriptively reported findings. Results The pilot included 48 HNC patients and 13 caregivers. About 44.4% of patients and 30.8% of caregivers demonstrated low health insurance literacy (HILM ≤60). On the 10-item knowledge test, patients had an average of 6.8 (SD: 2.3) correct responses and caregivers had 7.8 (SD: 1.1) correct responses. Calculating out-of-pocket costs for out-of-network services was challenging; only 9.5% of patients and 0% of caregivers answered correctly. Conclusion Additional outreach strategies may be needed to supplement screening for health insurance literacy. Areas of focus for interventions include improving understanding of how to calculate financial responsibility for health care services and filing an appeal for health insurance claim denial. Level of Evidence IV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver T. Nguyen
- Department of Health Outcomes and BehaviorH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
| | | | - Krupal Patel
- Department of Head and Neck OncologyH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
| | - Maija Reblin
- Department of Family MedicineUniversity of VermontBurlingtonVermontUSA
- Cancer Control & Population Health Sciences ProgramUniversity of Vermont Cancer CenterBurlingtonVermontUSA
| | - Lindsay Kim
- College of Medicine, University of South FloridaTampaFloridaUSA
| | - Emma Hume
- Department of Health Outcomes and BehaviorH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
| | - Benjamin Powers
- Department of Gastrointestinal OncologyH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
| | - Amy Otto
- Department of Public Health SciencesUniversity of MiamiCoral GablesFloridaUSA
| | - Amir Alishahi Tabriz
- Department of Health Outcomes and BehaviorH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
- Department of Gastrointestinal OncologyH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
- Department of Oncological SciencesUniversity of South FloridaTampaFloridaUSA
| | - Jessica Islam
- Department of Gastrointestinal OncologyH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
- Department of Cancer EpidemiologyH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
- Center for Immunization and Infection Research in CancerH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
| | - Young‐Rock Hong
- Department of Health Services Research and ManagementUniversity of Florida College of Public Health and Health ProfessionsGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Anne C. Kirchhoff
- Cancer Control and Population Sciences Research Program Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of UtahSalt Lake CityUtahUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of UtahSalt Lake CityUtahUSA
| | - Kea Turner
- Department of Health Outcomes and BehaviorH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
- Department of Gastrointestinal OncologyH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteTampaFloridaUSA
- Department of Oncological SciencesUniversity of South FloridaTampaFloridaUSA
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Giang WCW, Bland E, Chen J, Colón-Morales CM, Alvarado MM. User Interactions With Health Insurance Decision Aids: User Study With Retrospective Think-Aloud Interviews. JMIR Hum Factors 2021; 8:e27628. [PMID: 34698647 PMCID: PMC8579212 DOI: 10.2196/27628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Two barriers to effective enrollment decisions are low health insurance literacy and lack of knowledge about how to choose a plan. To remedy these issues, digital decision aids have been used to increase the knowledge of plan options and to guide the decision process. Previous research has shown that the way information is presented in a decision aid can impact consumer choice, and existing health insurance decision aids vary in their design, content, and layout. Commercial virtual benefits counselors (VBCs) are digital decision aids that provide decision support by mimicking the guidance provided by an in-person human resources (HR) counselor, whereas more traditional HR websites provide information that requires self-directed navigation through the system. However, few studies have compared how decision processes are impacted by these different methods of providing information. Objective This study aims to examine how individuals interact with two different types of health insurance decision aids (guided VBCs that mimic conversations with a real HR counselor and self-directed HR websites that provide a broad range of detailed information) to make employer-provided health insurance decisions. Methods In total, 16 employees from a local state university completed a user study in which they made mock employer-provided health insurance decisions using 1 of 2 systems (VBC vs HR website). Participants took part in a retrospective think-aloud interview, cued using eye-tracking data to understand decision aid interactions. In addition, pre- and postexperiment measures of literacy and knowledge and decision conflict and usability of the system were also examined. Results Both the VBC and HR website had positive benefits for health insurance knowledge and literacy. Previous health insurance knowledge also impacted how individuals used decision aids. Individuals who scored lower on the pre-experiment knowledge test focused on different decision factors and were more conflicted about their final enrollment decisions than those with higher knowledge test scores. Although both decision aids resulted in similar changes in the Health Insurance Literacy Measure and knowledge test scores, perceived usability differed. Website navigation was not intuitive, and it took longer to locate information, although users appreciated that it had more details; the VBC website was easier to use but had limited information. Lower knowledge participants, in particular, found the website to be less useful and harder to use than those with higher health insurance knowledge. Finally, out-of-pocket cost estimation tools can lead to confusion when they do not highlight the factors that contribute to the cost estimate. Conclusions This study showed that health insurance decision aids help individuals improve their confidence in selecting and using health insurance plans. However, previous health insurance knowledge plays a significant role in how users interact with and benefit from decision aids, even when information is presented in different formats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wayne C W Giang
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Emma Bland
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Jeffrey Chen
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Coralys M Colón-Morales
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Michelle M Alvarado
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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Colón-Morales CM, Giang WCW, Alvarado M. Informed Decision-making for Health Insurance Enrollment: Survey Study. JMIR Form Res 2021; 5:e27477. [PMID: 34387555 PMCID: PMC8391737 DOI: 10.2196/27477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Revised: 05/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Health insurance enrollment is a difficult financial decision with large health impacts. Challenges such as low health insurance literacy and lack of knowledge about choosing a plan further complicate this decision-making process. Therefore, to support consumers in their choice of a health insurance plan, it is essential to understand how individuals go about making this decision. Objective This study aims to understand the sources of information used by individuals to support their employer-provided health insurance enrollment decisions. It seeks to describe how individual descriptive factors lead to choosing a particular type of information source. Methods An introduction was presented on health insurance plan selection and the sources of information used to support these decisions from the 1980s to the present. Subsequently, an electronic survey of 151 full-time faculty and staff members was conducted. The survey consisted of four sections: demographics, sources of information, health insurance literacy, and technology acceptance. Descriptive statistics were used to show the demographic characteristics of the 126 eligible respondents and to study the response behaviors in the remaining survey sections. Proportion data analysis was performed using the Cochran-Armitage trend test to understand the strength of the association between our variables and the types of sources used by the respondents. Results In terms of demographics, most of the respondents were women (103/126, 81.7%), represented a small household (1-2 persons; 87/126, 69%), and used their insurance 3-12 times a year (52/126, 41.3%). They assessed themselves as having moderate to high health insurance literacy and high acceptance of technology. The most selected and top-ranked sources were Official employer or state websites and Official Human Resources Virtual Benefits Counselor Alex. From our data analysis, we found that the use of official primary sources was constant across age groups and health insurance use groups. Meanwhile, the use of friends or family as a primary source slightly decreased as age and use increased. Conclusions In this exploratory study, we identified the main sources of health insurance information among full-time employees from a large state university and found that most of the respondents needed 2-3 sources to gather all the information that they desired. We also studied and identified the relationships between individual factors (such as age, gender, and literacy) and 2 dependent variables on the types of primary sources of information. We encountered several limitations, which will be addressed in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coralys M Colón-Morales
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Wayne C W Giang
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Michelle Alvarado
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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More intelligent designs: Comparing the effectiveness of choice architectures in US health insurance marketplaces. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Anderson D, Drake C. Preparing the Health Insurance Marketplaces for the COVID-19 Recession. JAMA HEALTH FORUM 2020; 1:e200822. [DOI: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2020.0822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- David Anderson
- Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Coleman Drake
- University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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