Consumers appear to cut their medical care spending when deductibles go up, even when it doesn’t make any sense. Bandaid dollar via http://www.shutterstock.com
This article is part of a series of articles this week examining the Affordable Care Act as the Supreme Court considers a challenge that could imperil the law. You can read the rest of the series here.
“Is that surgery really worth it? Do I really value that cancer screening? Is that extra imaging service necessary?
“These are the kinds of questions consumers ask themselves when their insurance plans require higher cost-sharing for medical services. This is a new reality in the US health care system as large employers offering coverage have moved aggressively toward less generous, high-deductible insurance offerings.
“This shift was accelerated by the “Cadillac Tax” provision contained in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which, starting in 2018, places an excise tax on employers offering insurance plans that cover very high levels of medical spending. Further, many of the consumers enrolling in the public state exchanges created under the ACA have enrolled in lower- coverage financial plans that cover an average of 60% (bronze) or 70% (silver) of medical expenditures, similar to typical high-deductible coverage.”
Read this article at The Conversation in its entirety, click here.
