Navigating Care Choices: How to Help Consumers Shop for Value

Less than one in five patients reports having seen information comparing prices and quality across health plans or providers, and even fewer report having used such information to select care, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. As the burden of health care spending continues to mount, patients have a growing incentive to shop around for high quality care at competitive prices—but they're going to need help.

This webinar highlighted strategies to guide consumers toward high-value health care, including:

• the use of reference pricing to spur cost-conscious purchasing for drugs and other procedures
• research on which incentives lead consumers to seek care in lower-cost settings, and why the state of Massachusetts has made this issue a focus in cost-control efforts
• ways for employers to engage employees in their health care choices and encourage shopping, including potential regulatory changes to allow more financial incentives
• innovative tools health plans can use to facilitate shopping for care, including a provider finder with cost estimates
• new evidence challenging the theory that high deductible health plans with HSAs lead patients to reduce wasteful medical spending