20 Jul Higher Cost Sharing For Mental Health Services Could Increase Downstream Costs
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Ravesteijn
Bastian Ravesteijn PhD
Department of Health Care Policy
Harvard Medical School
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We find that higher out-of-pocket costs for mental health care could have the unintended consequence of increasing the use of acute and involuntary mental health care among those suffering from the most debilitating disorders.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Response: Our results do not rule out that higher out-of-pocket costs incentivized certain individuals to reduce their use of low-value care, and certainly it reduced overall treatment costs. However, they do suggest that higher cost sharing for seriously ill and low-income patients could discourage treatment of vulnerable populations and create substantial downstream costs.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: In future research, we will look at consequences of patient cost sharing outside of mental health care in terms of income, social security, and crime.
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Citation:
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Last Updated on July 20, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD