Containing contraceptive costs

Costs and net health effects of contraceptive methods.

BACKGROUND Pregnancy and contraceptive methods both have important health effects that include risks and benefits. The net impact of contraception on women's health has not been reported previously. STUDY DESIGN This is a cost-utility analysis using a Markov model evaluated by Monte Carlo simulation using the societal perspective for costs. The analysis compared 13 methods of contraception to...

Containing costs and containing bugs: are they mutually exclusive?

BACKGROUND The overall health care costs for managing patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in U.S. hospitals is burdensome. While pharmacy costs comprise only a minor proportion of these costs, hospital length of stay (LOS) is the greatest contributor. Infections due to antimicrobial-resistant pathogens are also associated with increased overall health care cost. Therefore, strategi...

Are we containing costs or pushing on a balloon?

Strategies for Containing Drug Costs: Implications for a Medicare Benefit

As policymakers consider adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, cost containment will be an important issue. This article discusses strategies to hold down the prices paid for prescription drugs. Within the private sector these include the use of formularies, the emergence of pharmaceutical benefit management companies, and the expansion of mail order pharmacies. In the Federal Governm...

Containing Medicaid costs in an era of growing physician Supply

In this analysis, Medicaid cost containment is viewed within the theoretical framework of a price discrimination model. The value of viewing supply decisions made by physicians in terms of the conventional economic laws of supply and demand is demonstrated. Physicians are seen to respond to prices in a predictable way. As private prices increase, physicians are less willing to participate in Me...