Quick stats:

81% of consumers will choose a recommended imaging provider for a $50 incentive
76% will use a recommended surgeon for $250
72% will choose telehealth instead of an urgent care visit for $25
68% will choose a recommended primary care provider for $40

If you want your employees to model healthier behavior and cut your health plan bills, the answer could be simple: pay them.

That's according to a white paper from HealthSparq, which says new research highlights the ability of simply paying people to behave in healthier ways.

"By pairing transparency tools with incentives that reward consumers for cost-effective care decisions, plans and employers can achieve their most important financial and population health objectives," the paper's authors write, noting specifically the goals of curbing rising claim costs and driving greater value in care.

By 2027 health care spending is expected to hit nearly $6 trillion, rising by some 5.5 percent every year. And while higher deductibles and bigger cost shares thrust on participants are already among the steps taken to try to rein in those costs, says the report, such actions don't directly address the "cost variation inherent in the health care system."

The government is doing its part to try to help, including a new rule proposed by the CMS mandating health plans and self-insured groups share information on out-of-pocket costs with members. Should that rule be passed, the report says, it would "also encourage health plans to use financial incentives to generate cost savings for members by crediting savings from incentives programs toward a plan's medical loss ratio."

But rewards programs have already been shown to steer consumers toward "specific providers, care settings and service options," the report says, with 82 percent of consumers choosing a preferred lab if they're paid $25 to do so, and 72 percent will accept telemedicine rather than urgent care for a $25 incentive.

Pairing transparency tools with financial incentives can nudge consumers into shopping around for health care online (79 percent of consumers aren't doing so at present), especially since 43 percent of health care costs incurred by those with commercial insurance, totaling a total spend of $524.2 billion, are "shoppable." With consumers' total out-of-pocket spending having risen by 2.6 percent in 2017—totaling 10 percent of that year's total health spend of $365.5 billion, it's clear that that can add up to a lot of money to be saved.

In addition, the study finds that not only are 91 percent of consumers interested in health care incentive programs, 81 percent want their health plans to provide them tools to save money on their care and 76 percent want employers to give them those tools.

Not only that, but 55 percent of consumers say a financial reward could convince them to use a recommended provider or facility; 66 percent would even travel farther to an approved option if they were rewarded for doing so; and 57 percent said they'd ask for a different recommendation for a PCP if the first referral they got didn't come with a reward for going there.

Spending the money to change behavior could provide dividends at a cost that's not horrendous, with 81 percent saying they'd go to a preferred imaging provider for a $50 incentive, 76 percent would accept a preferred surgeon for $250 and 68 percent would accept a recommended primary care provider for $40.

Read more:

Instant Insights /

Financial incentives work to boost health initiatives

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