Relative Value Health Insurance

This article proposes a new paradigm for rationalizing health care expenditures called "relative value health insurance," a product that would enable consumers to purchase health insurance that covers cost-effective treatments but excludes cost-ineffective treatments. A combination of legal and informational impediments prevents private insurers from marketing this type of product today, but creative use of comparative effectiveness research, funded as a part of health care reform, could make relative value health insurance possible. Data deficits, adverse selection risks, and heterogeneous values among consumers create obstacles to shifting the health insurance system to this paradigm, but they could be overcome.
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Articles Source Type: research