Dive Brief:
- The Health Care Cost Institute released six studies showing how insurance policies are impacting healthcare costs and medical utilization.
- Among the findings were provider consolidation drives up cancer treatment costs and expanding access to physical therapy reduces use of high-powered painkillers.
- The independent researchers drew on HCCI’s database of commercial claims data for over 50 million Americans.
Dive Insight:
Cancer treatment spending rose when outpatient practices consolidated because of the additional facility fees outpatient facilities can charge payers. The researchers also found a link between consolidation and more costly drugs and other outpatient services.
Another study showed states that allow nurse practitioners to treat patients in the absence of a doctor had lower primary care rates — down 1% to 4% versus states that did not. Overall healthcare spending increased, however, possibly due to the general increase in access to care, the researchers said.
Researchers also found that:
- Reimbursing for telehealth services reduces the cost of care by 40%, yet only seven states mandate equal coverage for telehealth and non-telehealth care.
- Passage of mental health parity legislation has not had the impact on access to mental health services that was anticipated; and
- Adopting a reference-based payment model for colonoscopies could save 8.5% per procedure.
The studies were funded by grants from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and the National Academy for State Health Policy. HCCI’s repository contains de-identified HIPAA-compliant claims data from three of the nation’s largest payers.