In high-deductible health insurance plans, people with lower incomes or greater healthcare needs are no more likely to defer healthcare services than others in the plans, according to a study by the RAND Corp.
The RAND findings contradict a widely held assumption that people with low incomes or chronic conditions would cut back on care because they could not afford the higher out-of-pocket payments.
However, the study also had some troubling news. Surveying people who had just switched to high-deductible plans, researchers found that all groups in such plans generally held back on preventive services, even when first-dollar coverage was available.
It's possible that "people didn’t understand that [those services] were free" because it was the first year of the plan for them, the lead author of the study told the Wall Street Journal Health Blog. Also, they may not be easily able to get a referral for preventive services because they don't have primary care physician, she said.
The study is published online by Forum for Health Economics & Policy.
Read more coverage of high deductibles:
- Insurance Plans Offered on Health Exchanges Could Carry Significant Deductibles
- Identifying the 'Tipping Point' in Patient Collections: Q&A With Jim Bohnsack at TransUnion
The RAND findings contradict a widely held assumption that people with low incomes or chronic conditions would cut back on care because they could not afford the higher out-of-pocket payments.
However, the study also had some troubling news. Surveying people who had just switched to high-deductible plans, researchers found that all groups in such plans generally held back on preventive services, even when first-dollar coverage was available.
It's possible that "people didn’t understand that [those services] were free" because it was the first year of the plan for them, the lead author of the study told the Wall Street Journal Health Blog. Also, they may not be easily able to get a referral for preventive services because they don't have primary care physician, she said.
The study is published online by Forum for Health Economics & Policy.
Read more coverage of high deductibles:
- Insurance Plans Offered on Health Exchanges Could Carry Significant Deductibles
- Identifying the 'Tipping Point' in Patient Collections: Q&A With Jim Bohnsack at TransUnion