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Zhao Y, Yang Z. Research on collaborative innovation optimization strategies for digitally enabled higher education ecosystems. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0302285. [PMID: 38635589 PMCID: PMC11025831 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Digitally enabled higher education involves the in-depth use of new-generation digital technology, which has subverted and innovated the traditional teaching mode, driven the development of high-quality teaching and learning, and improved teachers' teaching experience, and increased efficiency. Based on ecosystem theory, this paper constructs a higher education ecosystem with the government, enterprises, and universities as the core participating subjects. It considers the participating subjects' effort level and the ecosystem's overall benefits under the three scenarios of noncooperative research and development (R&D), cost sharing, and cooperative R&D. The results show that (1) the service innovation effort level of the three parties increases with increasing human resource level and technology maturity, and the government's benefit decreases with increasing cost of fulfilling social responsibility. (2) The government's cost subsidies to universities and enterprises can enhance the service innovation level of both parties and increase the optimal returns of the three parties and the ecosystem as a whole. (3) In the cooperative R&D game scenario, the effort level of the three parties and the total ecosystem returns are greater than those in the noncollaborative R&D scenario, and after determining the subsidy coefficients of the government, Pareto optimality of the three parties and the ecosystem as a whole can be achieved. The conclusions of this study can aid in understanding the dynamic evolution mechanism of digitally enabled higher education and provide a realistic decision-making reference for higher education ecosystem managers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhao
- Personnel Department, Shenyang Institute of Engineering, Shenyang, China
| | - Zheng Yang
- Faculty Affairs Office of the Shenyang Institute of Engineering Committee, Shenyang Institute of Engineering, Shenyang, China
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Hatcher JB, Lin G, Moran CP, Al Awamlh SAH, Sulieman L, Morales NG, Berkowitz ST, Patel S, Lindsey J. Effects of Cost Sharing on Ophthalmic Care Utilization in the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2024; 31:159-168. [PMID: 37042706 DOI: 10.1080/09286586.2023.2199849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To determine the distribution and quantity of ophthalmic care consumed on Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, the demographics of the population utilizing these services, and the relationship between ACA insurance coverage plan tier, cost sharing, and total cost of ophthalmic care consumed. METHODS This cross-sectional study analyzed ACA individual and small group market claims data from the Wakely Affordable Care Act (WACA) 2018 dataset, which contains detailed claims, enrollment, and premium data from Edge Servers for 3.9 million individual and small group market lives. We identified all enrollees with ophthalmology-specific billing, procedure, and national drug codes. We then analyzed the claims by plan type and calculated the total cost and out-of-pocket (OOP) cost. RESULTS Among 3.9 million enrollees in the WACA 2018 dataset, 538,169 (13.7%) had claims related to ophthalmology procedures, medications, and/or diagnoses. A total of $203 million was generated in ophthalmology-related claims, with $54 million in general services, $42 million in medications, $20 million in diagnostics and imaging, and $86 million in procedures. Average annual OOP costs were $116 per member, or 30.9% of the total cost, and were lowest for members with platinum plans (16% OOP) and income-driven cost sharing reduction (ICSR) subsidies (17% OOP). Despite stable ocular disease distribution across plan types, beneficiaries with silver ICSR subsidies consumed more total care than any other plan, higher than platinum plan enrollees and almost 1.5× the cost of bronze plan enrollees. CONCLUSIONS Ophthalmic care for enrollees on ACA plans generated substantial costs in 2018. Plans with higher OOP cost sharing may result in lower utilization of ophthalmic care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy B Hatcher
- Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - George Lin
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Cullen P Moran
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | | | - Lina Sulieman
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | | | - Sean T Berkowitz
- Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Shriji Patel
- Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jennifer Lindsey
- Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Garabedian LF, Zhang F, Costa R, Argetsinger S, Ross-Degnan D, Wharam JF. Association of State Insulin Out-of-Pocket Caps With Insulin Cost-Sharing and Use Among Commercially Insured Patients With Diabetes : A Pre-Post Study With a Control Group. Ann Intern Med 2024; 177:439-448. [PMID: 38527286 DOI: 10.7326/m23-1965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Twenty-five states have implemented insulin out-of-pocket (OOP) cost caps, but their effectiveness is uncertain. OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of state insulin OOP caps on insulin use and OOP costs among commercially insured persons with diabetes. DESIGN Pre-post study with control group. SETTING Eight states implementing insulin OOP caps of $25 to $30, $50, or $100 in January 2021, and 17 control states. PARTICIPANTS Commercially insured persons with diabetes and insulin users younger than 65 years. Subgroups of particular interest included members from states with insulin OOP caps of $25 to $30, enrollees with health savings accounts (HSAs) that require high insulin OOP payments, and lower-income members. MEASUREMENTS Mean monthly 30-day insulin fills and OOP costs. RESULTS State insulin caps were not associated with changes in insulin use in the overall population (relative change in fills per month, 1.8% [95% CI, -3.2% to 6.9%]). Insulin users in intervention states saw a 17.4% (CI, -23.9% to -10.9%) relative reduction in insulin OOP costs, largely driven by reductions among HSA enrollees; there was no difference in OOP costs among nonaccount plan members. More generous ($25 to $30) state insulin OOP caps were associated with insulin OOP cost reductions of 40.0% (CI, -62.5% to -17.6%), again primarily driven by a larger reduction in the subgroup with HSA plans. LIMITATIONS Single national insurer; 9-month follow-up. CONCLUSION Insulin OOP caps were associated with reduced insulin OOP costs but no overall increases in insulin use. A proposed national insulin cap of $35 for commercially insured persons might lead to meaningful insulin OOP savings but have a limited effect on insulin use. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura F Garabedian
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (L.F.G., F.Z., R.C., S.A., D.R.)
| | - Fang Zhang
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (L.F.G., F.Z., R.C., S.A., D.R.)
| | - Rebecca Costa
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (L.F.G., F.Z., R.C., S.A., D.R.)
| | - Stephanie Argetsinger
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (L.F.G., F.Z., R.C., S.A., D.R.)
| | - Dennis Ross-Degnan
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (L.F.G., F.Z., R.C., S.A., D.R.)
| | - J Frank Wharam
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, and Department of Medicine and Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (J.F.W.)
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Kaplan CM, Waters TM, Clear ER, Graves EE, Henderson S. The Impact of Prescription Drug Coverage on Disparities in Adherence and Medication Use: A Systematic Review. Med Care Res Rev 2024; 81:87-95. [PMID: 38174355 DOI: 10.1177/10775587231218050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Prescription drug cost-sharing is a barrier to medication adherence, particularly for low-income and minority populations. In this systematic review, we examined the impact of prescription drug cost-sharing and policies to reduce cost-sharing on racial/ethnic and income disparities in medication utilization. We screened 2,145 titles and abstracts and identified 19 peer-reviewed papers that examined the interaction between cost-sharing and racial/ethnic and income disparities in medication adherence or utilization. We found weak but inconsistent evidence that lower cost-sharing is associated with reduced disparities in adherence and utilization, but studies consistently found that significant disparities remained even after adjusting for differences in cost-sharing across individuals. Study designs varied in their ability to measure the causal effect of policy or cost-sharing changes on disparities, and a wide range of policies were examined across studies. Further research is needed to identify the types of policies that are best suited to reduce disparities in medication adherence.
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Han T, Lu J, Zhang H, Gao W. Evolution analysis of low-carbon cooperation of service providers based on Moran process in cloud manufacturing. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0299952. [PMID: 38512899 PMCID: PMC10956838 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Low-carbon cooperation among cloud manufacturing service providers is one way to achieve carbon peak and neutrality. Such cooperation is related to the benefits to service providers adopting low-carbon strategies and stochastic factors such as government low-carbon policies, providers' environmental awareness, and demanders' low-carbon preferences. Focusing on the evolutionary process of service providers' low-carbon strategy selection under uncertain factors, a stochastic evolutionary game model is constructed based on the Moran process, and the equilibrium conditions for low-carbon cooperation among providers are analyzed under benefit-dominated and stochastic factor-dominated situations. Through numerical simulation, the effects of the cloud platform's cost-sharing coefficient for low-carbon investment, matching growth rate, carbon trading price, and group size on providers' low-carbon strategy evolution are analyzed. The research results show that increasing the cloud platform's low-carbon cost-sharing, carbon trading price, and group size can promote low-carbon cooperation among service providers. With greater low-carbon investment costs and greater stochastic factor interference, the providers' enthusiasm for low-carbon cooperation decreases. This study fills the research gap in the low-carbon cooperation evolution of cloud manufacturing providers based on the stochastic evolutionary game and provides decision-making suggestions for governments and cloud platforms to encourage provider participation in low-carbon cooperation and for providers to adopt low-carbon strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiaojuan Han
- CIMS Research Center, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianfeng Lu
- CIMS Research Center, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hao Zhang
- CIMS Research Center, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wentao Gao
- CIMS Research Center, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
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Liang MI, Chen L, Aviki EM, Wright JD. Cost sharing for oral lenvatinib among commercially insured patients. Am J Manag Care 2024; 30:114-117. [PMID: 38457819 DOI: 10.37765/ajmc.2024.89512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To use a nationwide pharmaceutical claims database to evaluate cost-sharing trends for commercially insured patients with cancer who were prescribed lenvatinib (Lenvima). STUDY DESIGN IBM MarketScan databases were used to evaluate lenvatinib costs for patients with employer-based commercial insurance, and for patients 65 years and older, Medicare claims for fee-for-service plans. METHODS Patients were included if they had least 1 outpatient pharmaceutical claim for lenvatinib paid on a noncapitated basis from 2015 to 2019. Median and IQR costs were estimated and inflation adjusted to 2019 US$ for 30-day supplies and reported as total, insurance liability, coordination of benefits, and out-of-pocket costs. RESULTS A total of 685 patients had at least 1 pharmaceutical claim for lenvatinib, which included patients with thyroid (n = 251; 36.6%), renal cell (n = 202; 29.5%), hepatocellular (n = 160; 23.4%), and endometrial (n = 48; 7.0%) cancer. The median (IQR) number of prescriptions per patient was 3 (2-7), and the median (IQR) total days of supply was 90 (45-210) days. The median (IQR) 30-day cost of lenvatinib was $17,253 ($15,597-$18,120). Median (IQR) 30-day insurance liability was $16,847 ($15,000-$17,981). Median (IQR) 30-day coordination of benefits was $0 ($0-$0). Median (IQR) 30-day patient out-of-pocket cost was $32 ($0-$100). However, the maximum 30-day out-of-pocket cost in our patient cohort was $12,538. CONCLUSIONS In this cohort, insurance was liable for the majority of total lenvatinib drug costs, and 75% of patients paid $100 or less per month out of pocket. This information can be used by care teams to counsel insured patients. Health systems and drug manufacturers must identify patients with high out-of-pocket costs and provide convenient access to financial assistance programs so that patients are not forced to forgo the benefits of these drugs due to financial barriers. Value-based payment models and drug pricing reform are also needed to address underlying drivers of high drug costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret I Liang
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8635 W 3rd St, Ste 160W, Los Angeles, CA 90048.
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Lovchikova M, Feher A, Lian L. Health Plan Switching and Health Care Utilization: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Health Forum 2024; 5:e240324. [PMID: 38551588 PMCID: PMC10980954 DOI: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Importance While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) helped make health insurance premiums more affordable with premium tax credits, ACA marketplace enrollees continue to face barriers to care. Objective To investigate the effect of informational emails on plan switching and health care utilization. Design, Setting, and Participants This randomized clinical trial was conducted during the 2021 special enrollment period in California's Affordable Care Act marketplace among households that reported receiving unemployment insurance and were enrolled in non-silver-tier plans. The trial targeted 42 470 households that became temporarily eligible for cost-sharing reduction (CSR) silver plans that covered 94% of medical costs (CSR silver 94 plans) as a result of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. Intervention Households were randomized to either a no-email control group or to a treatment group receiving 2 informational emails encouraging households to switch to CSR plans. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was the switch rate to a CSR silver plan by July 31, 2021. Secondary outcomes include various measures of health care utilization in the second half of 2021 (July 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021). Health care utilization was measured by rates of practitioner visits, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and prescription fills. Results Of the 42 470 households (head of household mean [SD], age, 41.4 [13.3] years; 51.7% male), 10 650 (25.1%) were in the control group and 31 820 (74.9%) were in the treatment group. The emails led to a statistically significant 3.1-percentage point (95% CI, 2.6-3.6 percentage points) increase in CSR silver 94 enrollment (a 74.8% relative increase) by July 31, 2021, and a 1.3-percentage point (95% CI, 0.2-2.4 percentage points) increase (a 2.3% relative increase) in practitioner visits by December 31, 2021. The emails had no detectable effect on prescription fills, emergency department visits, or hospitalizations. Conclusions and Relevance The results of this randomized clinical trial provide experimental evidence that, with access to more affordable health care, individuals are more likely to visit practitioners. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05891418.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew Feher
- Department of Health Care Access and Information, Sacramento, California
| | - Langou Lian
- Department of Health Care Access and Information, Sacramento, California
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Kawabuchi K, Kajitani K. The Reality of Cost Sharing in Japan. Int J Health Plann Manage 2024; 39:186-195. [PMID: 37941157 DOI: 10.1002/hpm.3726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Financial pressure on younger generation is mounting in Japan, a super-ageing society with staggering economy. The revision on the co-insurance rate for 70-74 with "Standard" category was implemented to mitigate such pressure, seeking better balance across generations in sharing the burden of healthcare cost. It raised the rate from 10% to 20% over the period of five years from 2014 to 2018. This report examined how it changed the share of cost sharing (cost sharing as percentage to total healthcare expenditure), among the 70-74 with "Standard" category in Citizens Health Insurance programme in 44 prefectures. It specifically focused on change in the population's actual share of cost sharing (ASCS) that better reflect the genuine amount of payment actually made by the patients themselves. The average ASCS increased from 7.28% (2013) to 10.78% (2019), resulting wider gap from the statutory planned share of cost sharing (i.e., the statutory co-insurance rate of 10% in 2013, and 20% in 2019). Also found was increased variance among prefectural ASCS, which may suggest a possibility of un-designed effect by the revision, of encouraging a move towards ability and willingness to pay. In terms of cost containment effect, Japan needs to consider various non-conventional options, including review of the current use of healthcare resources. First and foremost, however, the true state of cost sharing should be recognized in terms of ASCS and shared more widely as a reality. Such effort is essential in discussion of how to keep embracing the country's life line, UHC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koichi Kawabuchi
- Department of Healthcare Economics, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Japan
| | - Keiko Kajitani
- Department of Healthcare Economics, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Japan
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Golberstein E, Campbell JM, Maclean JC, Harris SJ, Saloner B, Stein BD. Prescription Drug Dispensing and Patient Costs After Implementation of a No Behavioral Health Cost-Sharing Law. JAMA Health Forum 2024; 5:e240198. [PMID: 38517423 PMCID: PMC10960196 DOI: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Importance On January 1, 2022, New Mexico implemented a No Behavioral Cost-Sharing (NCS) law that eliminated cost-sharing for mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) treatments in plans regulated by the state, potentially reducing a barrier to treatment for MH/SUDs among the commercially insured; however, the outcomes of the law are unknown. Objective To assess the association of implementation of the NCS with out-of-pocket spending for prescription for drugs primarily used to treat MH/SUDs and monthly volume of dispensed drugs. Design, Settings, and Participants This retrospective cohort study used a difference-in-differences research design to examine trends in outcomes for New Mexico state employees, a population affected by the NCS, compared with federal employees in New Mexico who were unaffected by NCS. Data were collected on prescription drugs for MH/SUDs dispensed per month between January 2021 and June 2022 for New Mexico patients with a New Mexico state employee health plan and New Mexico patients with a federal employee health plan. Data analysis occurred from December 2022 to January 2024. Exposure Enrollment in a state employee health plan or federal health plan. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcomes were mean patient out-of-pocket spending per dispensed MH/SUD prescription and the monthly volume of dispensed MH/SUD prescriptions per 1000 employees. A difference-in-differences estimation approach was used. Results The implementation of the NCS law was associated with a mean (SE) $6.37 ($0.30) reduction (corresponding to an 85.6% decrease) in mean out-of-pocket spending per dispensed MH/SUD medication (95% CI, -$7.00 to -$5.75). The association of implementation of NCS with the volume of prescriptions dispensed was not statistically significant. Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that the implementation of the New Mexico NCS law was successful in lowering out-of-pocket spending on prescription medications for MH/SUDs, but that there was no association of NCS with the volume of medications dispensed in the first 6 months after implementation. A key challenge is to identify policies that protect from high out-of-pocket spending while also promoting access to needed care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezra Golberstein
- Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis
| | - James M. Campbell
- Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis
| | - Johanna Catherine Maclean
- Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Samantha J. Harris
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Brendan Saloner
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
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Sinaiko AD, Sommers BD. Why Cost Sharing on Its Own Will Not Fix Health Care Costs. JAMA Intern Med 2024; 184:234-235. [PMID: 38252433 DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.7115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
This Viewpoint describes issues with cost sharing for health care costs and suggests improvements to current cost sharing systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna D Sinaiko
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
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Haaga T, Böckerman P, Kortelainen M, Tukiainen J. Effects of nurse visit copayment on primary care use: Do low-income households pay the price? J Health Econ 2024; 94:102866. [PMID: 38428266 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2024.102866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Nurses are increasingly providing primary care, yet the literature on cost-sharing has paid little attention to nurse visits. We employ a staggered difference-in-differences design to examine the effects of adopting a 10-euro copayment for nurse visits on the use of public primary care among Finnish adults. We find that the copayment reduced nurse visits by 9%-10% during a one-year follow-up. There is heterogeneity by income in absolute terms, but not in relative terms. The spillover effects on general practitioner (GP) use are negative but small, with varying statistical significance. We also analyze the subsequent nationwide abolition of the copayment. However, we refrain from drawing causal conclusions from this due to the lack of credibility in the parallel trends assumption. Overall, our analysis suggests that moderate copayments can create a greater barrier to access for low-income individuals. We also provide an example of using a pre-analysis plan for retrospective observational data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tapio Haaga
- Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, FI-20014, Finland; Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), P.O. Box 30, FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Petri Böckerman
- Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014, Finland; Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE, Arkadiankatu 7, FI-00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mika Kortelainen
- Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, FI-20014, Finland; Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), P.O. Box 30, FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Janne Tukiainen
- Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, FI-20014, Finland
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Joyce G, Zhou B, Kaestner R. Why higher copayments for opioids did not reduce use among Medicare beneficiaries. Health Econ 2024; 33:466-481. [PMID: 37985466 PMCID: PMC10872383 DOI: 10.1002/hec.4779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
To examine whether higher cost-sharing deterred prescription opioid use. Medicare Part D claims from 2007 to 2016 for a 20% random sample of Medicare enrollees. We obtain estimates of the effect of cost-sharing on prescription opioid use using ordinary least squares and instrumental variables methods. In both, we exploit the variation (change) in cost-sharing within plans over time for a sample of beneficiaries who remain in the same plan. Focusing on changes in cost-sharing within a plan for a constant sample of beneficiaries mitigates potential bias from plan selection and using a constant set of weights derived from use in year (t) eliminates changes in the cost-sharing indexes due to (endogenous) consumer choice in year (t+1). Part D plans adopted benefit changes designed to reduce opioid use, including moving opioids to higher cost-sharing tiers. Increasing plan copayments for hydrocodone or oxycodone was associated with reductions in plan-paid claims and offsetting increases in cash claims. Widespread availability of low-cost generics combined with the anti-clawback provision in Part D mediated the effect of higher cost sharing to curb opioid use. As plans moved generic opioids to higher cost-sharing tiers, beneficiaries simply paid cash prices and aggregate use remained largely unchanged. The anti-clawback provision in Part D, intended to protect beneficiaries from price gouging, limited plans' ability to constrain opioid use through typical demand-side measures such as increased cost-sharing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey Joyce
- University of Southern California Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics
- USC School of Pharmacy
| | - Bo Zhou
- University of Southern California Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics
- USC School of Pharmacy
| | - Robert Kaestner
- University of Southern California Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics
- Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago and NBER
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Freed MC, Humensky JL, Arean PA. PERSPECTIVE: A Path to Value-Based Insurance Design for Mental Health Services. J Ment Health Policy Econ 2024; 27:23-31. [PMID: 38634395 PMCID: PMC11062318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aligning cost of mental health care with expected clinical and functional benefits of that care would incentivize the delivery of high value treatments and services. In turn, ineffective or untested care could still be offered but at costs high enough to offset the delivery of high value care. AIMS The authors comment on Benson and Fendrick's paper on Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) for mental health in the September 2023 special issue of this journal. The authors also present a preliminary framework of key ingredients needed to consider VBID for mental health treatments and services. METHODS The authors briefly review current and past efforts to contain costs and improve quality of mental health care, which include (for example) use of carve-out and carve-in programs, evaluation of cost sharing models, impact of accountable care organizations, and studying other benefit designs and impact of federal and state policies. RESULTS Using PTSD as an example, key ingredients of VBID for mental health services were identified and include the following: tools for case identification and monitoring progress over time at the population level; specific treatments and services with evidence of clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and health equity; and an approach to document the specific treatment or service was delivered (versus another treatment or service that may lack evidence). DISCUSSION The inability to afford mental health care is a top barrier to treatment seeking. People who do elect to spend time and money on mental health care are further disadvantaged by accessing care that is not well regulated and the quality at best is questionable. VBID could be an important lever for increasing access to and use of high value mental health care. Partnerships among the research, practice, and policy communities can help ensure research solutions meet needs of these two communities. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE VBID holds promise to make high value mental health care more affordable while discouraging low value treatments and services. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICIES While evidence gaps remain, these gaps can be filled concurrently with pursuit of VBID for mental health services. IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH This paper identifies important research opportunities to help make VBID a reality for mental health care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Freed
- Division of Services and Intervention Research; National Institute of Mental Health; 6001 Executive Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA,
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Momahhed SS, Sefiddashti SE, Minaei B, Arab M. The optimal co-insurance rate for outpatient drug expenses of Iranian health insured based on the data mining method. Int J Equity Health 2024; 23:25. [PMID: 38331790 PMCID: PMC10854021 DOI: 10.1186/s12939-023-02065-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A more equal allocation of healthcare funds for patients who must pay high costs of care ensures the welfare of society. This study aimed to estimate the optimal co-insurance for outpatient drug costs for health insurance. SETTING The research population includes outpatient prescription claims made by the Health Insurance Organization that outpatient prescriptions in a timely manner in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 were utilized to calculate the optimal co-insurance. The study population was representative of the research sample. DESIGN At the secondary level of care, 11 features of outpatient claims were studied cross-sectionally and retrospectively using data mining. Optimal co-insurance was estimated using Westerhut and Folmer's utility model. PARTICIPANTS One hundred ninety-three thousand five hundred fifty-two individuals were created from 21 776 350 outpatient claims of health insurance. Because of cost-sharing, insured individuals in a low-income subsidy plan and those with refractory diseases were excluded. RESULTS Insureds were divided into three classes of low, middle, and high risk based on IQR and were separated to three clusters using the silhouette coefficient. For the first, second, and third clusters of the low-risk class, the optimal co-insurance estimates are 0.81, 0.76, and 0.84, respectively. It was equal to one for all middle-class clusters and 0.38, 0.45, and 0.42, respectively, for the high-risk class. The insurer's expenses were altered by $3,130,463, $3,451,194, and $ 1,069,859 profit for the first, second, and third clusters, respectively, when the optimal co-insurance strategy is used for the low-risk class. For middle risks, it was US$29,239,815, US$13,863,810, and US$ 14,573,432 while for high risks, US$4,722,099, US$ 6,339,317, and US$19,627,062, respectively. CONCLUSIONS These findings can improve vulnerable populations' access to costly medications, reduce resource waste, and help insurers distribute funds more efficiently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shekoofeh Sadat Momahhed
- Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sara Emamgholipour Sefiddashti
- Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Behrouz Minaei
- School of Computer Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Arab
- National Center for Health Insurance Research (Iran Health Insurance Organization), Tehran, Iran
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Gong JH, Azad CL, Zhang G, Means KR, Aliu O, Giladi AM. Site of Ambulance Origination and Billing for Out-of-Network Services. JAMA Netw Open 2024; 7:e240118. [PMID: 38381432 PMCID: PMC10882413 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.0118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Importance The No Surprises Act implemented in 2022 aims to protect patients from surprise out-of-network (OON) bills, but it does not include ground ambulance services. Understanding ground ambulance OON and balance billing patterns from previous years could guide legislation aimed to protect patients following ground ambulance use. Objective To characterize OON billing from ground ambulance services by evaluating whether OON billing risk differs by the site of ambulance origination (home, hospital, nonhospital medical facility, or scene of incident). Design, Setting, and Participants Cross-sectional study of the Merative MarketScan dataset between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, using claims-based data from employer-based private health insurance plans in the US. Participants included patients who utilized ground ambulances during the study period. Data were analyzed from June to December 2023. Exposure Medical encounter requiring ground ambulance transportation. Main Outcomes and Measures Ground ambulance OON billing prevalence was calcuated. Linear probability models adjusted for state-level mixed effects were fit to evaluate OON billing probability across ambulance origins. Secondary outcomes included the allowed payment, patient cost-sharing amounts, and potential balance bills for OON ambulances. Results Among 2 031 937 ground ambulance services (1 375 977 unique patients) meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1 072 791 (52.8%) rides transported men, and the mean (SD) patient age was 41 (18) years. Of all services, 1 113 676 (54.8%) were billed OON. OON billing probabilities for ambulances originating from home or scene were higher by 12.0 percentage points (PP) (95% CI, 11.8-12.2 PP; P < .001 for home; 95% CI, 11.7-12.2 PP; P < .001 for scene) vs those originating from hospitals. Mean (SD) total financial burden, including cost-sharing and potential balance bills per ambulance service, was $434.70 ($415.99) per service billed OON vs $132.21 ($244.92) per service billed in-network. Conclusions and Relevance In this cross-sectional study of over 2 million ground ambulance services, ambulances originating from home, the scene of an incident, and nonhospital medical facilities were more likely to result in OON bills. Legislation is needed to protect patients from surprise billing following use of ground ambulances, more than half of which resulted in OON billing. Future legislation should at minimum offer protections for these subsets of patients often calling for an ambulance in urgent or emergent situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung Ho Gong
- The Curtis National Hand Center, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Chao Long Azad
- The Curtis National Hand Center, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Gongliang Zhang
- The Curtis National Hand Center, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
- MedStar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, Maryland
| | - Kenneth R Means
- The Curtis National Hand Center, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Oluseyi Aliu
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Aviram M Giladi
- The Curtis National Hand Center, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
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Wharam JF, Argetsinger S, Lakoma M, Zhang F, Ross-Degnan D. Acute Diabetes Complications After Transition to a Value-Based Medication Benefit. JAMA Health Forum 2024; 5:e235309. [PMID: 38334992 PMCID: PMC10858396 DOI: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.5309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Importance The association of value-based medication benefits with diabetes health outcomes is uncertain. Objective To assess the association of a preventive drug list (PDL) value-based medication benefit with acute, preventable diabetes complications. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study used a controlled interrupted time series design and analyzed data from a large, national, commercial health plan from January 1, 2004, through June 30, 2017, for patients with diabetes aged 12 to 64 years enrolled through employers that adopted PDLs (intervention group) and matched and weighted members with diabetes whose employers did not adopt PDLs (control group). All participants were continuously enrolled and analyzed for 1 year before and after the index date. Subgroup analysis assessed patients with diabetes living in lower-income and higher-income neighborhoods. Data analysis was performed between August 19, 2020, and December 1, 2023. Exposure At the index date, intervention group members experienced employer-mandated enrollment in a PDL benefit that was added to their follow-up year health plan. This benefit reduced out-of-pocket costs for common cardiometabolic drugs, including noninsulin antidiabetic agents and insulin. Matched control group members continued to have cardiometabolic medications subject to deductibles or co-payments at follow-up. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was acute, preventable diabetes complications (eg, bacterial infections, neurovascular events, acute coronary disease, and diabetic ketoacidosis) measured as complication days per 1000 members per year. Intermediate measures included the proportion of days covered by and higher use (mean of 1 or more 30-day fills per month) of antidiabetic agents. Results The study 10 588 patients in the intervention group (55.2% male; mean [SD] age, 51.1 [10.1] years) and 690 075 patients in the control group (55.2% male; mean [SD] age, 51.1 [10.1] years) after matching and weighting. From baseline to follow-up, the proportion of days covered by noninsulin antidiabetic agents increased by 4.7% (95% CI, 3.2%-6.2%) in the PDL group and by 7.3% (95% CI, 5.1%-9.5%) among PDL members from lower-income areas compared with controls. Higher use of noninsulin antidiabetic agents increased by 11.3% (95% CI, 8.2%-14.5%) in the PDL group and by 15.2% (95% CI, 10.6%-19.8%) among members of the PDL group from lower-income areas compared with controls. The PDL group experienced an 8.4% relative reduction in complication days (95% CI, -13.9% to -2.8%; absolute reduction, -20.2 [95% CI, -34.3 to -6.2] per 1000 members per year) compared with controls from baseline to follow-up, while PDL members residing in lower-income areas had a 10.2% relative reduction (95% CI, -17.4% to -3.0%; absolute, -26.1 [95% CI, -45.8 to -6.5] per 1000 members per year). Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study, acute, preventable diabetes complication days decreased by 8.4% in the overall PDL group and by 10.2% among PDL members from lower-income areas compared with the control group. The results may support a strategy of incentivizing adoption of targeted cost-sharing reductions among commercially insured patients with diabetes and lower income to enhance health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Franklin Wharam
- Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
- Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Durham, North Carolina
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Stephanie Argetsinger
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Matthew Lakoma
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Fang Zhang
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Dennis Ross-Degnan
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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Kaplan J, Rado J, Laiteerapong N. Mandatory Documented Consent and Cost-Sharing Impede Access to Collaborative Care Psychiatry. J Gen Intern Med 2024; 39:500. [PMID: 38087180 PMCID: PMC10897096 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-023-08556-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Kaplan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | | | - Neda Laiteerapong
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Schmidt T, Juday C, Patel P, Karmarkar T, Smith-Howell ER, Fendrick AM. Expanding the Catalog of Patient and Caregiver Out-of-Pocket Costs: A Systematic Literature Review. Popul Health Manag 2024; 27:70-83. [PMID: 38099925 PMCID: PMC10877382 DOI: 10.1089/pop.2023.0238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Out-of-pocket (OOP) health care expenditures in the United States have increased significantly in the past 5 decades. Most research on OOP costs focuses on expenditures related to insurance and cost-sharing payments or on costs related to specific conditions or settings, and does not capture the full picture of the financial burden on patients and unpaid caregivers. The aim for this systematic literature review was to identify and categorize the multitude of OOP costs to patients and unpaid caregivers, aid in the development of a more comprehensive catalog of OOP costs, and highlight potential gaps in the literature. The authors found that OOP costs are multifarious and underestimated. Across 817 included articles, the authors identified 31 subcategories of OOP costs related to direct medical (eg, insurance premiums), direct nonmedical (eg, transportation), and indirect spending (eg, absenteeism). In addition, 42% of articles studied an expenditure that the authors did not label as "OOP." A holistic and comprehensive catalog of OOP costs can inform future research, interventions, and policies related to financial barriers to health care in the United States to ensure the full range of costs for patients and unpaid caregivers are acknowledged and addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - A Mark Fendrick
- University of Michigan School of Medicine/School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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McNutt C, Carlo AD. Mandatory Documented Consent and Cost-Sharing Impede Access to Collaborative Care Psychiatry. J Gen Intern Med 2024; 39:501. [PMID: 38110695 PMCID: PMC10897089 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-023-08555-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Clare McNutt
- Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Dallas, TX, USA.
- The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA.
- The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - Andrew D Carlo
- Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Dallas, TX, USA
- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
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Dean LT, Nunn AS, Chang HY, Bakre S, Goedel WC, Dawit R, Saberi P, Chan PA, Doshi JA. Estimating The Impact Of Out-Of-Pocket Cost Changes On Abandonment Of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. Health Aff (Millwood) 2024; 43:36-45. [PMID: 38190604 PMCID: PMC10996384 DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
Oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective for preventing HIV. Several different developments in the US either threaten to increase or promise to decrease PrEP out-of-pocket costs and access in the coming years. In a sample of 58,529 people with a new insurer-approved PrEP prescription, we estimated risk-adjusted percentages of patients who abandoned (did not fill) their initial prescription across six out-of-pocket cost categories. We then simulated the percentage of patients who would abandon PrEP under hypothetical changes to out-of-pocket costs, ranging from $0 to more than $500. PrEP abandonment rates of 5.5 percent at $0 rose to 42.6 percent at more than $500; even a small increase from $0 to $10 doubled the rate of abandonment. Conversely, abandonment rates that were 48.0 percent with out-of-pocket costs of more than $500 dropped to 7.3 percent when those costs were cut to $0. HIV diagnoses were two to three times higher among patients who abandoned PrEP prescriptions than among those who filled them. These results imply that recent legal challenges to the provision of PrEP with no cost sharing could substantially increase PrEP abandonment and HIV rates, upending progress on the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorraine T Dean
- Lorraine T. Dean , Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Parya Saberi
- Parya Saberi, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | | | - Jalpa A Doshi
- Jalpa A. Doshi, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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21
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Berger M, Six E, Czypionka T. Policy implications of heterogeneous demand reactions to changes in cost-sharing: Patient-level evidence from Austria. Soc Sci Med 2024; 340:116488. [PMID: 38101171 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Cost-sharing is a prominent tool in many healthcare systems, both for raising revenue and steering patient behaviour. Although the effect of cost-sharing on demand for healthcare services has been heavily studied in the literature, researchers often apply a macro-perspective to these issues, opening the door for policy makers to the fallacy of assuming uniform demand reactions across a spectrum of different forms of treatments and diagnostic procedures. We use a simple classification system to categorize 11 such healthcare services along the dimensions of urgency and price to estimate patients' (anticipatory) demand reactions to a reduction in the co-insurance rate by a sickness fund in the Austrian social health insurance system. We use a two-stage study design combining matching and two-way fixed effects difference-in-differences estimation. Our results highlight how an overall joint estimate of an average increase in healthcare service utilization (0.8%) across all healthcare services can be driven by healthcare services that are deferrable (+1%), comparatively costly (+1.4%) or both (+1.6%) and for which patients also postponed their consumption until after the cost-sharing reduction. In contrast, we do not find a clear demand reaction for inexpensive or urgent services. The detailed analysis of the demand reaction for each individual healthcare service further illustrates their heterogeneity. We show that even comparatively minor changes to the costs borne by patients may already evoke tangible (anticipatory) demand reactions. Our findings help policy makers better understand the implications of heterogeneous demand reactions across healthcare services for using cost-sharing as a policy tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Berger
- Department of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15/1, 1090, Vienna, Austria; Institute for Advanced Studies, Josefstädterstraße 39, 1080, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Eva Six
- Research Institute Economics of Inequality, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020, Wien, Austria
| | - Thomas Czypionka
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Josefstädterstraße 39, 1080, Vienna, Austria; London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK.
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Ellison J, Pudasainy S, Bellerose M, Quinn D, Borrero S, Olson I, Chen Q, Shireman TI, Jarlenski MP. Contraceptive Use Among Traditional Medicare And Medicare Advantage Enrollees. Health Aff (Millwood) 2024; 43:98-107. [PMID: 38190592 DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
Medicare is the primary source of health insurance coverage for reproductive-age people with Social Security Disability Insurance. However, Medicare does not require contraceptive coverage for pregnancy prevention, and little is known about contraceptive use in traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage. We analyzed Medicare and Optum data to assess variations in contraceptive use and methods used by traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage enrollees, as well as among enrollees with and without noncontraceptive clinical indications. Clinically indicated contraceptives are used for reasons other than pregnancy prevention, including menstrual regulation or to treat acne, menorrhagia, and endometriosis. Contraceptive use was higher among Medicare Advantage enrollees than traditional Medicare enrollees, but use in both populations was low compared with contraceptive use among Medicaid enrollees. We found significant variation by Medicare type with respect to contraceptive methods used. Relative to traditional Medicare, the probability of long-acting reversible contraception was more than three times higher in Medicare Advantage, and the probability of tubal sterilization was more than ten times higher. Overall, Medicare enrollees with noncontraceptive clinical indications had twice the probability of contraceptive use as those without them. Medicare coverage of all contraceptive methods without cost sharing would help address financial barriers to contraceptives and support the reproductive autonomy of disabled enrollees.
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Hernandez I, Gabriel N, Kaltenboeck A, Boccuti C, Hansen RN, Sullivan SD. Reimbursement to Pharmacies for Generic Drugs by Medicare Part D Sponsors. JAMA 2023; 330:2390-2392. [PMID: 38051277 PMCID: PMC10698681 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.21481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
This study evaluates whether organizations that offer Medicare Part D plans (referred to as Part D sponsors) overpay pharmacies for generic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inmaculada Hernandez
- Division of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California, San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, La Jolla
| | - Nico Gabriel
- Division of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California, San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, La Jolla
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Galbraith AA, Faugno E, Cripps LA, Przywara KM, Wright DR, Gilkey MB. "You Have to Rob Peter to Pay Paul So Your Kid Can Breathe": Using Qualitative Methods to Characterize Trade-Offs and Economic Impact of Asthma Care Costs. Med Care 2023; 61:S95-S103. [PMID: 37963027 PMCID: PMC10635333 DOI: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Economic analyses often focus narrowly on individual patients' health care use, while overlooking the growing economic burden of out-of-pocket costs for health care on other family medical and household needs. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore intrafamilial trade-offs families make when paying for asthma care. RESEARCH DESIGN In 2018, we conducted telephone interviews with 59 commercially insured adults who had asthma and/or had a child with asthma. We analyzed data qualitatively via thematic content analysis. PARTICIPANTS Our purposive sample included participants with high-deductible and no/low-deductible health plans. We recruited participants through a national asthma advocacy organization and a large nonprofit regional health plan. MEASURES Our semistructured interview guide explored domains related to asthma adherence and cost burden, cost management strategies, and trade-offs. RESULTS Participants reported that they tried to prioritize paying for asthma care, even at the expense of their family's overall financial well-being. When facing conflicting demands, participants described making trade-offs between asthma care and other health and nonmedical needs based on several criteria: (1) short-term needs versus longer term financial health; (2) needs of children over adults; (3) acuity of the condition; (4) effectiveness of treatment; and (5) availability of lower cost alternatives. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that cost-sharing for asthma care often has negative financial consequences for families that traditional, individually focused economic analyses are unlikely to capture. This work highlights the need for patient-centered research to evaluate the impact of health care costs at the family level, holistically measuring short-term and long-term family financial outcomes that extend beyond health care use alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison A. Galbraith
- Boston Medical Center and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
- Harvard Medical School & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Elena Faugno
- Harvard Medical School & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Lauren A. Cripps
- Harvard Medical School & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA
| | | | - Davene R. Wright
- Harvard Medical School & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Melissa B. Gilkey
- Department of Health Behavior, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
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Kaplan J, Rado J, Laiteerapong N. Mandatory Documented Consent and Cost-Sharing Impede Access to Collaborative Care Psychiatry. J Gen Intern Med 2023; 38:3616-3617. [PMID: 37698723 PMCID: PMC10713939 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-023-08394-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Kaplan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | | | - Neda Laiteerapong
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Yeung K, Cruz M, Tsiao E, Watkins JB, Sullivan SD. Drug use and spending under a formulary informed by cost-effectiveness. J Manag Care Spec Pharm 2023; 29:1175-1183. [PMID: 37889867 PMCID: PMC10778804 DOI: 10.18553/jmcp.2023.29.11.1175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The National Academy of Medicine has called for value-based drug formularies to address health plan prescription drug spending while maintaining access to high-value medicines. Thirty employer-sponsored plans implemented a "Value-Based Formulary-essentials" (VBF-e) program that uses cost-effectiveness evidence to inform cost-sharing and coverage exclusion. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if the VBF-e was associated with changes in medication use and patient out-of-pocket spending and health plan spending on prescription drugs and other health care. METHODS: This was a cohort study using a difference-in-differences design from 2015 through 2019 with 1 year of follow-up after VBF-e implementation at Premera Blue Cross, the largest nonprofit health plan in the Pacific Northwest. The VBF-e exposure group was composed of all individuals aged younger than 65 years and enrolled at least 12 months prior to their employer group's VBF-e implementation date. The contemporaneous control group was composed of propensity score-matched individuals with the same inclusion criteria but their employer group that did not implement VBF-e. We prespecified the following outcomes: days of medication on hand overall and by VBF-e tier (high-value generic, brand, and specialty drugs were in tiers 1 to 3, respectively, and low-value drugs were in tier 4 or excluded from coverage); prescription drug spending; and other health care use (emergency department visits, hospital days, and outpatient visits). RESULTS: Comparing 12,111 exposed (mean age = 36.0; 49.8% female sex) participants with 24,222 control participants (mean age = 34.7; 49.6% female sex), VBF-e reduced use of low-value drugs by 0.3 days per member per month (PMPM) (95% CI = -0.5 to -0.1; 17% decrease) for tier 4 drugs and 0.4 days PMPM (95% CI = -0.5 to -0.4; 83% decrease) for excluded drugs. High-value specialty drug use increased by 0.1 days PMPM (95% CI = 0.0-0.1; 123% increase). Health plan spending decreased by $14 PMPM (95% CI = -26 to -4) and member out-of-pocket spending increased by $1 PMPM (95% CI = 1-2). Other health care use did not change significantly. CONCLUSIONS: An exclusion formulary informed by cost-effectiveness evidence reduced low-value drug use, increased high-value specialty drug use, reduced health plan spending, and increased member out-of-pocket spending without increasing acute care use. DISCLOSURES: This research was supported by a grant from the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation's Greater Value Portfolio Program. Study Registration Number: NCT04904055.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Yeung
- The Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy, and Economics (CHOICE) Institute, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Maricela Cruz
- Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle
| | | | - John B. Watkins
- The Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy, and Economics (CHOICE) Institute, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington, Seattle
- Premera Blue Cross, Mountlake Terrace, WA
| | - Sean D. Sullivan
- The Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy, and Economics (CHOICE) Institute, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington, Seattle
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Claxton G, Rae M, Damico A, Wager E, Winger A, Long M. Health Benefits In 2023: Premiums Increase With Inflation And Employer Coverage In The Wake Of Dobbs. Health Aff (Millwood) 2023; 42:1606-1615. [PMID: 37850352 DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
In 2023 the average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health insurance coverage was $23,968-an increase of $1,505 (7 percent) from 2022. Both single and family premiums increased faster in 2023 than in 2022, in a period of generally high inflation throughout the US economy. On average, covered workers contributed 17 percent ($1,401) of the cost of single coverage and 29 percent ($6,575) of the cost of family coverage. When compared to employers' perceptions of the number of primary care providers in their networks, a smaller share of employers believed that their provider networks had a sufficient number of mental health and substance abuse providers to provide timely access to services. One-quarter of employers indicated that their employees had a "high" level of concern with the level of cost sharing required by their plans. When asked about abortion coverage in the wake of the Supreme Court Dobbs decision, almost a third of large employers reported that their largest plan covered abortion in most or all circumstances.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Emma Wager
- Emma Wager, KFF, San Francisco, California
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Qin H, Zou H, Sun J. Incentive strategy of dual innovation balance in green manufacturing innovation ecosystem: Based on hierarchical structure of innovation subject. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0291811. [PMID: 37733708 PMCID: PMC10513330 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Exploratory innovation is a pivotal way to seize future opportunities in green manufacturing innovation ecosystems, and exploitative innovation is conducive to expanding existing markets and resources, so it is essential to discuss the balanced incentive strategy of dual innovation for the sustainable development of ecosystems. Based on the hierarchical structure, this paper divides the core subjects in the green manufacturing innovation ecosystem into the application layer, the support layer, and the scientific research layer, constructs the differential game model of the no-incentive scenario, the cost-sharing scenario, and the collaborative scenario, and discusses the incentive strategies of the three types of subjects and the ecosystem in the evolution process of the dual innovation balance. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The level of dual innovation balance effort of the three types of subjects decreases with the increase of resource costs and environmental construction costs and increases with the increase of innovation balance capacity; (2) Cost sharing from the application layer to the support layer and the scientific research layer can enhance the effort level of both, which in turn enhances the optimal benefits for the three types of subjects and the ecosystem as a whole; (3) In the collaborative scenario, the level of effort and total ecosystem benefits of the innovation balance of the three types of subjects are strictly better than in the no incentive scenario, and the Pareto-optimality of the three subjects and the ecosystem will be realized after the coefficients of the distribution of benefits among the three types of subjects are determined. Based on this, this paper puts forward specific suggestions for the optimization of the structural relationship of the innovation body hierarchy, the exploitation of green manufacturing resources, and the macro-planning of the management department.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Qin
- School of Management, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang, China
| | - Hua Zou
- School of Management, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang, China
| | - Jian Sun
- School of Economics, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang, China
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29
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Jazowski SA, Vaidya AU, Donohue JM, Dusetzina SB, Sachs RE. Commercial Health Plan and Enrollee Out-of-Pocket Spending on Accelerated Approval Products in 2019. JAMA Intern Med 2023; 183:1016-1018. [PMID: 37428489 PMCID: PMC10334293 DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.2381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
This cross-sectional study examines spending by health care plans and enrollees on products with accelerated approval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelley A. Jazowski
- Department of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Avi U. Vaidya
- Department of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Julie M. Donohue
- Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Stacie B. Dusetzina
- Department of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
- Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Rachel E. Sachs
- Washington University in St Louis School of Law, St Louis, Missouri
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30
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Kannan S, Stevens J, Song Z. Growth In Patient Cost Sharing For Hospitalizations With And Without Intensive Care Among Commercially Insured Patients. Health Aff (Millwood) 2023; 42:1221-1229. [PMID: 37669496 PMCID: PMC10729672 DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
Intensive care units (ICUs) are increasingly used for hospital care, yet out-of-pocket spending for ICU hospitalizations remains poorly understood, particularly among the nearly half of the US population with commercial health insurance. Using 2008-19 MarketScan data, we compared 1,441,810 hospitalizations involving ICU services with 13,011,208 hospitalizations that did not involve ICU services. Average cost sharing, adjusted for patient and admission factors, increased from $1,137 per hospitalization in 2008 to $1,539 in 2019, or a 34 percent increase. This was driven by increasing deductibles, which rose by 163 percent. Across twenty clinical conditions whose hospitalizations commonly occurred in both ICU and non-ICU settings, ICU admission was associated with $155 higher cost sharing (13.0 percent higher) relative to cost sharing in non-ICU hospitalizations. Patients with high-deductible plans faced the highest cost sharing relative to those with other plan types. Patients who received out-of-network hospital care encountered higher cost sharing relative to those admitted to in-network hospitals with in-network clinicians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sneha Kannan
- Sneha Kannan, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jennifer Stevens
- Jennifer Stevens, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
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Fukuma S, Kato H, Takaku R, Tsugawa Y. Effect of no cost sharing for paediatric care on healthcare usage by household income levels: regression discontinuity design. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e071976. [PMID: 37591654 PMCID: PMC10441085 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-071976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the impact of no cost sharing on paediatric care on usage and health outcomes, and whether the effect varies by household income levels. DESIGN Regression discontinuity design. SETTING Nationwide medical claims database in Japan. PARTICIPANTS Children aged younger than 20 years from April 2018 to March 2022. EXPOSURE Co-insurance rate that increases sharply from 0% to 30% at a certain age threshold (the threshold age varies between 6 and 20 years depending on region). PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES The outpatient care usage (outpatient visit days and healthcare spending for outpatient care) and inpatient care (experience of any hospitalisation and healthcare spending for inpatient care). RESULTS Of 244 549 children, 49 556 participants were in the bandwidth and thus included in our analyses. Results from the regression discontinuity analysis indicate that no cost sharing was associated with a significant increase in the number of outpatient visit days (+5.26 days; 95% CI, +4.89 to +5.82; p<0.01; estimated arc price elasticity, -0.45) and in outpatient healthcare spending (+US$369; 95% CI, +US$344 to +US$406; p<0.01; arc price elasticity, -0.55). We found no evidence that no cost sharing was associated with changes in inpatient care usage. Notably, the effect of no cost-sharing policy on outpatient healthcare usage was larger among children from high-income households (visit days +5.96 days; 95% CI, +4.88 to +7.64, spending +US$511; 95% CI, +US$440 to +US$627) compared with children from low-income households (visit days +2.64 days; 95% CI, +1.54 to +4.23, spending +US$154; 95% CI, +US$80 to +US$249). CONCLUSIONS No cost sharing for paediatric care was associated with a greater usage of outpatient care services, but did not affect inpatient care usage. The study found that this effect was more pronounced among children from high-income households, indicating that the no cost sharing disproportionately benefits high-income households and may contribute to larger disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shingo Fukuma
- Human Health Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Hirotaka Kato
- Graduate School of Health Management, Keio University, Minato-ku, Japan
| | - Reo Takaku
- Graduate School of Economics, School of International and Public Policy, Hitotsubashi University, Kunitachi, Japan
| | - Yusuke Tsugawa
- General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research, University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Health Policy and Management, University of California Los Angeles Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Huang X, He J, Li Z. Internal incentives for carbon emission reduction in a capital-constrained supply chain: A financial perspective. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0287823. [PMID: 37410729 PMCID: PMC10325093 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Capital constraints hinder enterprises' carbon reduction efforts and affect the sustainability of the supply chain. To alleviate this limitation, the core enterprise considers offering two financial-based carbon reduction incentive mechanisms: cost-sharing mechanism (CS) and preferential financing mechanism (PF). In a supply chain with the dual sensitivity of market demand to price and carbon reduction, we model each incentive mechanism, discussing their impact, value, and selection strategies. The results show that neither party under CS pursues an excessively high share ratio. Only a below-threshold sharing ratio can promote the supplier's carbon reduction behavior and improve efficiency for both parties. Conversely, PF has a stable incentive effect on the supplier's carbon reduction behavior and can effectively increase the retailer's profits. However, a reasonable carbon reduction standard is needed to attract the supplier. In addition, as market demand becomes more sensitive to carbon reduction, the feasible range of CS narrows and that of PF expands. We compare players' preferences of PF and CS and find a Pareto region in which all players prefer PF to CS. Finally, we test the robustness of our findings by an extending model. Our study provides guidance for supply chain decisions facing dual pressures of financial constraints and carbon reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Huang
- School of Transportation and Logistics, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China
| | - Juan He
- School of Transportation and Logistics, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China
- Institute For Supply Chain Finance Studies, National Engineering Laboratory of Application Technology of Integrated Transportation Big Date, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China
| | - Zhengbo Li
- School of Transportation and Logistics, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China
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Wu VS, Benedict C, Friedman DN, Watson SE, Anglade E, Zeitler MS, Chino F, Thom B. Do discussions of financial burdens decrease long-term financial toxicity in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors? Support Care Cancer 2023; 31:434. [PMID: 37395811 DOI: 10.1007/s00520-023-07822-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aims to evaluate the associations between patient-provider cost discussions with patient-reported out-of-pocket (OOP) spending and long-term financial toxicity (FT) among adolescent and young adult (AYA; 15-39 years old) cancer survivors. METHODS Using a cross-sectional survey, we assessed the themes and quality of patient discussions with providers about financial needs and general survivorship preparation, quantified patients' levels of FT, and evaluated patient-reported OOP spending. We determined the association between cancer treatment cost discussion and FT using multivariable analysis. In a subset of survivors (n = 18), we conducted qualitative interviews and used thematic analysis to characterize responses. RESULTS Two hundred forty-seven AYA survivors completed the survey at a mean of 7 years post treatment and with a median COST score of 13. 70% of AYA survivors did not recall having any cost discussion about their cancer treatment with a provider. Having any cost discussion with a provider was associated with decreased FT (β = 3.00; p = 0.02) but not associated with reduced OOP spending (χ2 = 3.77; p = 0.44). In a second adjusted model, with OOP spending included as a covariate, OOP spending was a significant predictor of FT (β = - 1.40; p = 0.002). Key qualitative themes included survivors' frustration about the lack of communication related to financial issues throughout treatment and in survivorship, feeling unprepared, and reluctance to seek help. CONCLUSION AYA patients are not fully informed about the costs of cancer care and FT; the dearth of cost discussions between patients and providers may represent a missed opportunity to reduce costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria S Wu
- Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Catherine Benedict
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Cancer Institute, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Danielle N Friedman
- Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | - Fumiko Chino
- Affordability Working Group, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bridgette Thom
- Affordability Working Group, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
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Hill SC, Jacobs PD, Johnson CA, Mafrica LL. Availability of off-marketplace plans with lower premiums for higher-income families. Am J Manag Care 2023; 29:371-376. [PMID: 37523754 DOI: 10.37765/ajmc.2023.89397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Families with incomes above 400% of the federal poverty level were ineligible for marketplace premium tax credits before 2021 and may again be after 2025. Current laws temporarily removed this income cap, but because credits cap out-of-pocket premiums for a reference plan as a share of income, some higher-income families still receive zero tax credits. We quantified (1) premium differences between on- and off-marketplace plans and (2) the association between these premium differences and state decisions to finance cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) for lower-income families. STUDY DESIGN We created a comprehensive database of on- and off-marketplace plans in each county (including both federal and state-based marketplaces). METHODS By county and metal level, we compared on- and off-marketplace (1) plan premiums in 2020 and (2) growth rates in the numbers of plans. We contrasted outcomes for states by how insurers were instructed to finance CSRs. RESULTS In 2020, 89% of the US population lived in counties where some plans were offered exclusively off-marketplace. In these counties, for a 45-year-old choosing among silver plans in 2020 and who did not qualify for premium subsidies, premiums for the lowest-cost off-marketplace plans averaged 11.3% less than premiums for the lowest-cost on-marketplace plans. In contrast, for bronze and gold plans, the lowest-cost off-marketplace plans were, on average, more expensive. Silver plan premiums were 6.1% higher off-marketplace than on-marketplace in states that loaded CSRs on all silver plans, and 13.5% lower in states that loaded CSRs only on on-marketplace silver plans. CONCLUSIONS Higher-income individuals and families may consider purchasing Affordable Care Act-compliant silver plans off-marketplace and thereby reduce their premiums. State and federal policy makers should consider the impact of their decisions on the choice between on- and off-marketplace plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven C Hill
- Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 5600 Fishers Ln, Mail Stop 07W41A, Rockville, MD 20857.
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Chen Y, Loucks AR, Sullivan SD, Pearson SD, Kent D, Yeung K. Designing a Value-Based Formulary for a Commercial Health Plan: A Simulated Case Study of Diabetes Medications. Value Health 2023; 26:1022-1031. [PMID: 36796479 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2023.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The healthcare expenditure for managing diabetes with glucose-lowering medications has been substantial in the United States. We simulated a novel, value-based formulary (VBF) design for a commercial health plan and modeled possible changes in spending and utilization of antidiabetic agents. METHODS We designed a 4-tier VBF with exclusions in consultation with health plan stakeholders. The formulary information included covered drugs, tiers, thresholds, and cost sharing amounts. The value of 22 diabetes mellitus drugs was determined primarily in terms of incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Using pharmacy claims database (2019-2020), we identified 40 150 beneficiaries who were on the included diabetes mellitus medicines. We simulated future health plan spending and out-of-pocket costs with 3 VBF designs, using published own price elasticity estimates. RESULTS The average age of the cohort is 55 years (51% female). Compared with the current formulary, the proposed VBF design with exclusions is estimated to reduce total annual health plan spending by 33.2% (current: $33 956 211; VBF: $22 682 576), saving $281 in annual spending per member (current: $846; VBF: $565) and $100 in annual out-of-pocket spending per member (current: $119; VBF: $19). Implementing the full VBF with new cost shares, along with exclusions, has the potential to achieve the greatest savings, compared with the 2 intermediate VBF designs (ie, VBF with prior cost sharing and VBF without exclusions). Sensitivity analyses using various price elasticity values showed declines in all spending outcomes. CONCLUSION Designing a VBF with exclusions in a US employer-based health plan has the potential to reduce health plan and patient spending.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yilin Chen
- CHOICE Institute, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Aimee R Loucks
- Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sean D Sullivan
- CHOICE Institute, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Dan Kent
- Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kai Yeung
- Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.
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Guindon GE, Stone E, Trivedi R, Garasia S, Khoee K, Olaizola A. The Associations of Prescription Drug Insurance and Cost-Sharing With Drug Use, Health Services Use, and Health: A Systematic Review of Canadian Studies. Value Health 2023; 26:1107-1129. [PMID: 36842717 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2023.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In Canada, public insurance for physician and hospital services, without cost-sharing, is provided to all residents. Outpatient prescription drug coverage, however, is provided through a patchwork system of public and private plans, often with substantial cost-sharing, which leaves many underinsured or uninsured. METHODS We conducted a systematic review to examine the association of drug insurance and cost-sharing with drug use, health services use, and health in Canada. We searched 4 electronic databases, 2 grey literature databases, 5 specialty journals, and 2 working paper repositories. At least 2 reviewers independently screened articles for inclusion, extracted characteristics, and assessed risk of bias. RESULTS The expansion of drug insurance was associated with increases in drug use, individuals who reported drug insurance generally reported higher drug use, and increases in and higher levels of drug cost-sharing were associated with lower drug use. Although a number of studies found statistically significant associations between drug insurance or cost-sharing and health services use, the magnitudes of these associations were generally fairly small. Among 5 studies that examined the association of drug insurance and cost-sharing with health outcomes, 1 found a statistically significant and clinically meaningful association. We did not find that socioeconomic status or sex were effect modifiers; there was some evidence that health modified the association between drug insurance and cost-sharing and drug use. CONCLUSIONS Increased cost-sharing is likely to reduce drug use. Universal pharmacare without cost-sharing may reduce inequities because it would likely increase drug use among lower-income populations relative to higher-income populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Emmanuel Guindon
- Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Erica Stone
- Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Riya Trivedi
- Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sophiya Garasia
- Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kimia Khoee
- Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alexia Olaizola
- Department of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Roblin DW, Goodrich GK, Davis TL, Gander JC, McCracken CE, Weinfield NS, Ritzwoller DP. Did Access to Ambulatory Care Moderate the Associations Between Visit Mode and Ancillary Services Utilization Across the COVID-19 Pandemic Period? Med Care 2023; 61:S39-S46. [PMID: 36893417 PMCID: PMC9994577 DOI: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE In recent years, 2 circumstances changed provider-patient interactions in primary care: the substitution of virtual (eg, video) for in-person visits and the COVID-19 pandemic. We studied whether access to care might affect patient fulfillment of ancillary services orders for ambulatory diagnosis and management of incident neck or back pain (NBP) and incident urinary tract infection (UTI) for virtual versus in-person visits. METHODS Data were extracted from the electronic health records of 3 Kaiser Permanente Regions to identify incident NBP and UTI visits from January 2016 through June 2021. Visit modes were classified as virtual (Internet-mediated synchronous chats, telephone visits, or video visits) or in-person. Periods were classified as prepandemic [before the beginning of the national emergency (April 2020)] or recovery (after June 2020). Percentages of patient fulfillment of ancillary services orders were measured for 5 service classes each for NBP and UTI. Differences in percentages of fulfillments were compared between modes within periods and between periods within the mode to assess the possible impact of 3 moderators: distance from residence to primary care clinic, high deductible health plan (HDHP) enrollment, and prior use of a mail-order pharmacy program. RESULTS For diagnostic radiology, laboratory, and pharmacy services, percentages of fulfilled orders were generally >70-80%. Given an incident NBP or UTI visit, longer distance to the clinic and higher cost-sharing due to HDHP enrollment did not significantly suppress patients' fulfillment of ancillary services orders. Prior use of mail-order prescriptions significantly promoted medication order fulfillments on virtual NBP visits compared with in-person NBP visits in the prepandemic period (5.9% vs. 2.0%, P=0.01) and in the recovery period (5.2% vs. 1.6%, P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS Distance to the clinic or HDHP enrollment had minimal impact on the fulfillment of diagnostic or prescribed medication services associated with incident NBP or UTI visits delivered virtually or in-person; however, prior use of mail-order pharmacy option promoted fulfillment of prescribed medication orders associated with NBP visits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas W. Roblin
- Kaiser Permanente, Mid-Atlantic Permanente Research Institute, Rockville, MD
| | | | | | | | | | - Nancy S. Weinfield
- Kaiser Permanente, Mid-Atlantic Permanente Research Institute, Rockville, MD
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Ruff A, Harper DM, Dalton V, Fendrick AM. Coverage for the Entire Cervical Cancer Screening Process Without Cost-Sharing: Lessons From Colorectal Cancer Screening. Womens Health Issues 2023; 33:113-116. [PMID: 36529597 DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2022.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Allison Ruff
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
| | - Diane M Harper
- Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Vanessa Dalton
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - A Mark Fendrick
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Berger M, Pock M, Reiss M, Röhrling G, Czypionka T. Exploring the effectiveness of demand-side retail pharmaceutical expenditure reforms : Cross-country evidence from weighted-average least squares estimation. Int J Health Econ Manag 2023; 23:149-172. [PMID: 36131191 PMCID: PMC9968684 DOI: 10.1007/s10754-022-09337-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Increasing expenditures on retail pharmaceuticals bring a critical challenge to the financial stability of healthcare systems worldwide. Policy makers have reacted by introducing a range of measures to control the growth of public pharmaceutical expenditure (PPE). Using panel data on European and non-European OECD member countries from 1990 to 2015, we evaluate the effectiveness of six types of demand-side expenditure control measures including physician-level behaviour measures, system-level price-control measures and substitution measures, alongside a proxy for cost-sharing and add a new dimension to the existing empirical evidence hitherto based on national-level and meta-studies. We use the weighted-average least squares regression framework adapted for estimation with panel-corrected standard errors. Our empirical analysis suggests that direct patient cost-sharing and some-but not all-demand-side measures successfully dampened PPE growth in the past. Cost-sharing schemes stand out as a powerful mechanism to curb PPE growth, but bear a high risk of adverse effects. Other demand-side measures are more limited in effect, though may be more equitable. Due to limitations inherent in the study approach and the data, the results are only explorative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Berger
- Department of Health Economics Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Josefstädterstraße 39, Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Pock
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Josefstädterstraße 39, Vienna, Austria
| | - Miriam Reiss
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Josefstädterstraße 39, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gerald Röhrling
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Josefstädterstraße 39, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Czypionka
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Josefstädterstraße 39, Vienna, Austria.
- London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK.
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Liao C, Lu Q, Lin L. Coordinating a three-level contract farming supply chain with option contracts considering risk-averse farmer and retailer. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0279115. [PMID: 36827338 PMCID: PMC9956081 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
We considered a three-level contract farming supply chain comprising a risk-averse farmer, a risk-neutral supplier, and a risk-averse retailer. The farmer plants and grows fresh agricultural products with yield uncertainty, the supplier is the leader of the supply chain and the designer of the contracts, and the retailer sells processed products with random demand. Under CVaR criterion, this paper discusses three option contracts between the supplier and the retailer, as well as wholesale price contracts or replenishment cost-sharing contracts between the supplier and the farmer. Results show that when the farmer is risk-neutral, option contracts with or without replenishment cost-sharing contracts can maximize the total profit and increase the profits of all members simultaneously. When the farmer and the retailer are risk-averse, only option contracts with replenishment cost-sharing contracts can ensure supply chain full coordination and Pareto improvement by adjusting the option parameters and making the farmer's sharing ratio equal to his risk aversion coefficient. Moreover, through numerical analysis, we discovered that the interval of the Pareto improvement decreases with the retailer's risk aversion coefficient and the quantity loss rate, and increases with the farmer's risk aversion coefficient. The supplier will not be able to increase his own profits when the loss rate is excessively large. Therefore, the leader should consider the risk aversion degree of all parties and the quantity loss rate of fresh agricultural products before choosing contracts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changhua Liao
- School of Business Administration, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qihui Lu
- School of Business Administration, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Li Lin
- School of Business Administration, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China
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41
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Feng Z, Yang D, Wang X. "Internet+ Recycling" Platform Participation Selection Strategy in a Two-Echelon Remanufacturing Closed-Loop Supply Chain. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023; 20:3999. [PMID: 36901010 PMCID: PMC10001791 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20053999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Compared with traditional offline recycling channel, recycling through the "Internet+ recycling" platform has increasingly attracted the academic and practical intention in the past decade because of its accessibility and convenience. To promote the recycling initiatives and construct sustainable operations, how to stimulate supply chain stakeholders participating in the online recycling becomes a challenge issue. This paper considers one supplier, one manufacturer, and one third-party recycler (3PR) in a two-echelon remanufacturing closed-loop supply chain with an "Internet+ recycling" platform, in which consumers can access the online recycling platform and make an appointment for recycling without a physical visit. The manufacturer has three choices: either do not participate or participate with one of two strategies: cost-sharing (CS) or active promotion (AP) strategy. We develop a Stackelberg game model to study the motivation of the manufacturer to participate in the "Internet+ recycling" platform and the influence mechanism of key factors. The key findings include the following: (1) compared with the case without the "Internet+ recycling" platform, when the proportion of cost sharing for the 3PR is low, strategy CS contributes to the improvement of the 3PR's performance; (2) in the presence of two participation strategies, when the disassembly rate is low enough, the manufacturer prefers strategy AP; otherwise, he selects strategy CS; and (3) a high proportion of cost sharing for the manufacturer or low promotion effort cost can increase the whole profit of the closed-loop supply chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhangwei Feng
- School of Business, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Deyan Yang
- Business School, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Xintian Wang
- National Academy of Economic Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China
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Wang X, Zhang J, Ma D, Sun H. Green Agricultural Products Supply Chain Subsidy Scheme with Green Traceability and Data-Driven Marketing of the Platform. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023; 20:3056. [PMID: 36833775 PMCID: PMC9960969 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20043056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Government subsidies have played an important role in the development of green agriculture. In addition, the Internet platform is becoming a new channel to realize green traceability and promote the sale of agricultural products. In this context, we consider a two-level green agricultural products supply chain (GAPSC) consisting of one supplier and one Internet platform. The supplier makes green R&D investments to produce green agricultural products along with conventional agricultural products, and the platform implements green traceability and data-driven marketing. The differential game models are established under four government subsidy scenarios: no subsidy (NS), consumer subsidy (CS), supplier subsidy (SS), and supplier subsidy with green traceability cost-sharing (TSS). Then, the optimal feedback strategies under each subsidy scenario are derived using Bellman's continuous dynamic programming theory. The comparative static analyses of key parameters are given, and the comparisons among different subsidy scenarios are conducted. Numerical examples are employed to obtain more management insights. The results show that the CS strategy is effective only if the competition intensity between two types of products is below a certain threshold. Compared to the NS scenario, the SS strategy can always improve the supplier's green R&D level, the greenness level, market demand for green agricultural products, and the system's utility. The TSS strategy can build on the SS strategy to further enhance the green traceability level of the platform and the greenness level and demand for green agricultural products due to the advantage of the cost-sharing mechanism. Accordingly, a win-win situation for both parties can be realized under the TSS strategy. However, the positive effect of the cost-sharing mechanism will be weakened as the supplier subsidy increases. Moreover, compared to three other scenarios, the increase in the environmental concern of the platform has a more significant negative impact on the TSS strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Deqing Ma
- School of Business, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
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43
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Ding Y, Miller GE. The Impact of Sharing Drug Rebates at the Point of Sale on Out-of-Pocket Payments for Enrollees in Employer-Sponsored Insurance. Value Health 2023; 26:226-233. [PMID: 36114087 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2022.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study aimed to estimate the impact of sharing drug rebates at the point of sale on out-of-pocket spending by linking estimated rebates to administrative claims data for employer-sponsored insurance enrollees in 2018. METHODS We applied the drug rebate rate to the retail price of each brand name drug fill, allocated the reductions to out-of-pocket spending based on cost-sharing provisions, and aggregated each individual's out-of-pocket spending across drug fills. We assumed that generic drugs have no rebates for employer-sponsored insurance. We assessed the impact of sharing rebates at the point of sale on out-of-pocket spending overall, for the therapeutic classes and specific drugs with the highest average out-of-pocket spending per user, and by health plan type. RESULTS Across 4 simulations with different assumptions about the degree of cross-fill effects, we found that 10.4% to 12.2% of enrollees in our sample would have realized savings on out-of-pocket spending if rebates were shared to the point of sale. Among those with savings, approximately half would save $50 or less, and 10% would save > $500 annually. We calculated that a premium increase of $1.06 to $1.41 per member per month among the continuously enrolled, insured population would be sufficient to finance the out-of-pocket savings in our sample. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that, for a small percentage of enrollees, sharing drug rebates at the point of sale would likely improve the affordability of high-priced brand name drugs, especially drugs that face significant competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Ding
- Division of Research and Modeling, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD, USA.
| | - G Edward Miller
- Division of Research and Modeling, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD, USA
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Liu F, Chen J, Li C, Xu F. Cost Sharing and Cost Shifting Mechanisms under a per Diem Payment System in a County of China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023; 20:2522. [PMID: 36767888 PMCID: PMC9916538 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20032522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Cost sharing and cost shifting mechanisms are of vital importance in a prospective payment system. This paper employed the difference-in-differences method to estimate the impacts of a per diem system with inverted-U-shape rates on medical costs and the length of stay based on data from a health insurance institution. The supply side cost sharing mechanism worked so that the new payment system significantly reduced medical costs by 17.59 percent while the average length of stay varied little. After further analyzing the mechanism, we found that heterogeneous effects emerged mainly due to the special rates design. The reform decreased the cases that incurred relatively high medical costs and lengths of stay. However, cost shifting existed so that physicians could be motivated to provide unnecessary services to the patients who should have been discharged before the average length of stay. Therefore, payment rates in the per diem system require a sophisticated design to constrain its distortion to medical service provision even though medical expenditures were successfully contained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengrong Liu
- School of Public Policy & Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jiayu Chen
- Jiyang College, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Zhuji 311800, China
| | - Chaozhu Li
- School of Public Policy & Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Fenghui Xu
- School of Labor Economics, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, China
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45
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Johansson N, de New SC, Kunz JS, Petrie D, Svensson M. Reductions in out-of-pocket prices and forward-looking moral hazard in health care demand. J Health Econ 2023; 87:102710. [PMID: 36450181 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about how patients dynamically respond to a forthcoming reduction in health care out-of-pocket prices. Using a kinked Donut Regression Discontinuity design with kinks entering and exiting the donut, we evaluate a Swedish cost-sharing policy, where primary care out-of-pocket prices were eliminated at age 85. We find evidence of forward-looking moral hazard with older adults delaying primary care visits up to four months before the out-of-pocket elimination and shifting these visits until shortly after. These health care delays are driven by non-urgent care: non-physician visits, planned visits and follow up visits. We find no evidence of severe negative health effects in the short-term as a result of the delay. Contrary to our finding of forward-looking behavior with respect to out-of-pocket prices, we do not find evidence of typical moral hazard, as we do not find a persistent increase in primary health care use after the copayment elimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naimi Johansson
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 18A, Gothenburg SE-40530, Sweden; Faculty of Medicine and Health, University Health Care Research Center, Örebro University, Sweden.
| | - Sonja C de New
- Centre for Health Economics, Monash University, Level 5 Building H, Caulfield, Victoria 3145, Australia; IZA Institute of Labor Economics, ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, RWI Research Network, Germany
| | - Johannes S Kunz
- Centre for Health Economics, Monash University, Level 5 Building H, Caulfield, Victoria 3145, Australia
| | - Dennis Petrie
- Centre for Health Economics, Monash University, Level 5 Building H, Caulfield, Victoria 3145, Australia
| | - Mikael Svensson
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 18A, Gothenburg SE-40530, Sweden; Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA
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46
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Gamba S, Jakobsson N, Svensson M. The impact of cost-sharing on prescription drug demand: evidence from a double-difference regression kink design. Eur J Health Econ 2022; 23:1591-1599. [PMID: 35212886 PMCID: PMC9666319 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-022-01446-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Pharmaceuticals represent the third-largest expenditure item in health care spending in the OECD countries, and cost growth is around 5% per year in many OECD countries. One possible way to contain the rise in pharmaceutical spending is the use of cost-sharing schemes that makes insured individuals directly bear parts of the cost of a drug. This study estimates the price sensitivity of demand for prescription drugs using data on all prescription drug purchases from a random sample of 400,000 Swedes followed from 2010 to 2013. We use a regression kink design (RKD) by exploiting the kinked Swedish cost-sharing scheme to assess the price elasticity. Further, since the cost-sharing scheme has changed over time, we also use a double-difference RKD to account for potential confounding nonlinearities around the kink. Our results indicate that the standard RKD results are biased and exaggerate the price sensitivity. Our preferred double-difference RKD specifications show no or minor price sensitivity (95% CI price elasticity from - 0.12 to 0.02). The results are similar in several sub-group analyses across age groups, sexes, and income quartiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Gamba
- Department of Economics and Finance, Universitá Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Mikael Svensson
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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47
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Smith NK, Fendrick AM. Value-Based Insurance Design: Clinically Nuanced Consumer Cost Sharing to Increase the Use of High-Value Medications. J Health Polit Policy Law 2022; 47:797-813. [PMID: 35867528 DOI: 10.1215/03616878-10041191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Consumer cost sharing is widely employed by payers in the United States in an effort to control spending. Most cost-sharing strategies set patient contributions on the basis of costs incurred by payers and often do not consider medical necessity as a coverage criterion. Available evidence suggests that increases in cost sharing worsen health disparities and adversely affect patient-centered outcomes, particularly among economically vulnerable individuals, people of color, and those with chronic conditions. A key question has been how to better engage consumers while balancing appropriate access to essential services with increasing fiscal pressures. Value-based insurance design (VBID) is a promising approach designed to improve desired clinical and financial outcomes, in which out-of-pocket costs are based on the potential for clinical benefit, taking into consideration the patient's clinical condition. For more than two decades, broad multistakeholder support and multiple federal policy initiatives have led to the implementation of VBID programs that enhance access to vital preventive and chronic disease medications for millions of Americans. A robust evidence base shows that when financial barriers to essential medications are reduced, increased adherence results, leading to improved patient-centered outcomes, reduced health care disparities, and in some (but not most) instances, lower total medical expenditures.
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Nugraheni DA, Satibi S, Kristina SA, Puspandari DA. Factors Associated with Willingness to Pay for Cost-Sharing under Universal Health Coverage Scheme in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19:15017. [PMID: 36429734 PMCID: PMC9690347 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192215017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND National Health Insurance (NHI) in Indonesia requires an appropriate cost-sharing policy, particularly for diseases that require the largest financing. This study examined factors that influence willingness to pay (WTP) for cost-sharing under the universal health coverage scheme among patients with catastrophic illnesses in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study using structured questionnaires through direct interviews. The factors related to the WTP for cost-sharing under the NHI scheme in Indonesia were identified by a bivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Two out of every five (41.2%) participants had willingness to pay for cost-sharing. Sex [AOR = 0.69 (0.51, 0.92)], education [AOR = 1.54 (0.67, 3.55)], family size [AOR = 1.71 (1.07, 2.73)], occupation [AOR = 1.35 (0.88, 2.07)], individual income [AOR = 1.50 (0.87, 2.61)], household income [AOR = 1.47 (0.90, 2.39)], place of treatment [AOR = 2.54 (1.44, 4.45)], a health insurance plan [AOR = 1.22 (0.87, 1.71)], and whether someone receives an inpatient or outpatient service [AOR = 0.23 (0.10, 0.51)] were found to affect the WTP for a cost-sharing scheme with p < 0.05. CONCLUSION Healthcare (place of treatment, health insurance plan, and whether someone receives an inpatient or outpatient service) and individual socioeconomic (sex, educational, family size, occupational, income) factors were significantly related to the WTP for cost-sharing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diesty Anita Nugraheni
- Doctoral Graduate Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta 55584, Indonesia
| | - Satibi Satibi
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
| | - Susi Ari Kristina
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
| | - Diah Ayu Puspandari
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
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Xu J, Trish E, Joyce G. Pharmacy switching in response to preferred pharmacy networks in Medicare Part D. Health Serv Res 2022; 57:1112-1120. [PMID: 35297507 PMCID: PMC9441277 DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.13973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of preferred pharmacy networks-a tool that Medicare Part D plans have recently adopted to steer patients to lower cost pharmacies-on the use of preferred pharmacies and factors underlying beneficiaries' decisions on whether to switch to preferred pharmacies. DATA SOURCES Medicare claims data were collected for a nationally representative 20% sample of beneficiaries during 2010-2016 and merged with annual Part D pharmacy network files. STUDY DESIGN We examined preferred networks' impact on pharmacy choice by estimating a difference-in-differences model comparing preferred pharmacies' claim share before and after implementation among unsubsidized and subsidized beneficiaries. Additionally, we evaluated the factors affecting whether a beneficiary switched from mainly using nonpreferred to preferred pharmacies. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS We examined stand-alone drug plans that adopted a preferred network during 2011-2016. Our main sample included beneficiaries 65 years and older who stayed in their plan in both the first year of implementation and the year before and whose cost-sharing subsidy status and ZIP code remained unchanged during the 2-year period. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Unsubsidized Part D beneficiaries faced an average difference of $129 per year in out-of-pocket spending between using nonpreferred and preferred pharmacies, while subsidized beneficiaries were insulated from these cost differences. The implementation of preferred networks resulted in a 3.7-percentage point (95% CI: 3.3, 4.2) increase in preferred pharmacies' claim share in the first year among the unsubsidized. Existing relationships with preferred pharmacies, the size of financial incentives, proximity to preferred pharmacies, and urban residence were positively associated with beneficiaries' decisions to switch to these pharmacies. CONCLUSIONS Preferred pharmacy networks caused a moderate shift on average towards preferred pharmacies among unsubsidized beneficiaries, although stronger financial incentives correlated with more switching. Researchers and policymakers should better understand plans' cost-sharing strategies and assess whether communities have equitable access to preferred pharmacies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhui Xu
- Department of Health Policy and ManagementJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Erin Trish
- Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & EconomicsUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Economics, School of PharmacyUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Geoffrey Joyce
- Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & EconomicsUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Economics, School of PharmacyUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
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50
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Ackley CA. Tiered cost sharing and health care demand. J Health Econ 2022; 85:102663. [PMID: 35944308 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, I study tiered cost sharing, an innovative incentive structure designed to steer patients toward low-cost providers using large out-of-pocket price differentials. Using administrative data from New Hampshire, where two large insurers utilize tiered pricing programs, I estimate the effects of tiering on choices and spending for common gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures. I first conduct a difference-in-differences analysis using the rollout of one insurer's tiered option. I then develop and estimate a demand model to explicitly compare the tiered design with other common plans. Both the reduced form and structural models imply that the tiered plans are associated with 4.5%-6.3% less in mean per-episode spending than high-deductible and coinsurance-based plans, and do not affect the likelihood of seeking care. I find evidence that the savings is in part due to a salience or "simple pricing" effect whereby patients respond to tiered out-of-pocket prices but not to traditional deductibles or coinsurance rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calvin A Ackley
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, 20746, MD, United States.
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