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Patients with high-deductible plans visit ED less often
Quality Improvement Monitor, March 16, 2007
People on high-deductible health plans go to the emergency room 10% less often than patients on traditional plans, according to a new study reported on by United Press International (UPI).
"Our study showed that, for most members, the high-deductible plan seemed to work as intended," Frank Wharam, the Harvard study's lead author, told UPI. "Patients went to the emergency room less frequently for non-emergency conditions."
The research was performed at the Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. The study compared 60,000 people enrolled in traditional health insurance plans in Massachusetts with more than 8,700 people working for employers with high-deductible plans that covered office visits and prescription drugs, but subjected emergency care to deductible requirements, UPI reported.
The study found a slight decline in first-time emergency visits for people on high-deductible plans and a 25% reduction in repeat visits, mostly for non-severe conditions such as headaches, nausea, or colds. The authors stressed that more research is needed to determine the long-term health consequences of high-deductible plans, according to UPI.
"It will be important to determine how the health of low-income and chronically ill patients is affected," Wharam told UPI. "Our study could not provide conclusive answers. Ideally, high-deductible plans will be structured so that all patients readily seek care when they think they have an emergency."
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