A new study found eliminating the health insurance deductible for screening tests modestly improved use of blood-cholesterol tests, Pap smears, mammograms and fecal-occult blood tests, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal Health Blog.
After adjusting for demographics and the overall trend of test use, utilization rose by 23-78 tests per 1,000 eligible patients, according to a study by the Rand Corp. and Merck in Health Services Research.
The study also found people with high-deductible plans were less likely to submit to a screening, perhaps because they are less risk-averse than others or because they are less willing to interact with the health-care system.
While members did not have to pay a deductible for preventive tests, they still had to pay co-insurance, which amounted to 20-30 percent of the cost. Researchers broke members into three groups: people in high- and low-deductible plans, before and after eliminating the deductible, and a control group for whom the deductible didn’t change.
Read the Wall Street Journal Health Blog report on preventive tests.
Read more on health insurance deductibles:
-Rising Deductibles Exacerbating Year-End Demand for Healthcare
-5 Best Practices for Improving Your Hospital's Revenue Cycle
-10 Statistics Your Hospital Should Track
After adjusting for demographics and the overall trend of test use, utilization rose by 23-78 tests per 1,000 eligible patients, according to a study by the Rand Corp. and Merck in Health Services Research.
The study also found people with high-deductible plans were less likely to submit to a screening, perhaps because they are less risk-averse than others or because they are less willing to interact with the health-care system.
While members did not have to pay a deductible for preventive tests, they still had to pay co-insurance, which amounted to 20-30 percent of the cost. Researchers broke members into three groups: people in high- and low-deductible plans, before and after eliminating the deductible, and a control group for whom the deductible didn’t change.
Read the Wall Street Journal Health Blog report on preventive tests.
Read more on health insurance deductibles:
-Rising Deductibles Exacerbating Year-End Demand for Healthcare
-5 Best Practices for Improving Your Hospital's Revenue Cycle
-10 Statistics Your Hospital Should Track