Hand holding coins and health care symbol According to EBRI's Paul Fronstin, "Meeting a health plan deductible may be associated with less patient scrutiny over the value of health care services being prescribed by health care providers." (Photo: Shutterstock)

High-deductible health plans might help make members more selective early in their plan year, but once they meet that deductible, all bets are off. A report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute shows that the likelihood of using low-value health services increases by as much as 83% once plan members meet their deductible. That includes services like cancer screenings below recommended ages, imaging for uncomplicated headaches, and vitamin D or prostate-specific antigen tests.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

  • Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.