Recently Modern Healthcare http://www.modernhealthcare.com *noted: “Doctors who are more accustomed to fielding patient questions about the benefits of procedures, tests, drugs and specialist referrals say patients increasingly are demanding answers to two additional questions: How much will it cost and do I really need it? Those questions and others like it—such as “Can it wait?”—have grown more frequent as more patients bear financial responsibility for more of their medical bills. That’s because a growing number of health plans have high deductibles that can exceed $5,000, high coinsurance rates, and limited or no coverage when patients seek care outside the plans’ narrow provider networks.
Some physicians say they welcome conversations with patients prompted by high-deductible plans about efforts to prevent illness, minimize complications and avoid unnecessary care. Frank discussion of cost also can help patients avoid the stress and financial damage of large medical bills. “It matters because the way healthcare pricing works in the United States, you can go in for completely routine care and it can hit your deductible in a big way,”…..
But doctors also warn that too much cost sensitivity among patients can compromise their ability to do their job, with potential harmful consequences if patients delay or skip necessary treatment. And these conversations sometimes can raise uncomfortable financial issues for doctors about whether they are providing care in the most cost-effective way for their patients. * to read the full MHC article “Reform Update: Patients’ cost sensitivity worries some doctors” by Melanie Evans, highlight and click on open hyperlink http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140813/NEWS/308139965&utm_source=AltURL&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=am&AllowView=VXQ0UnpwZTVBdldkL1IzSkUvSHRlRU9oams4ZEErQlk=?mh
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Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H., is Clinical Professor, Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Adjunct Professor, Baruch College ( C.U.N.Y.), Rutgers School of Public Health, and Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration
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