The Effect of Information Asymmetry on Consumer Driven Health Plans

The healthcare industry is unique when compared to other industries in that multiple stakeholders manage healthcare services. Consumers are the ultimate users of these services; however, they have relatively little influence on their own health service choices. The industry is changing rapidly with new technologies making access to healthcare information via the Internet and other sources easier in theory. The disconnect between what consumers can learn and their ability to use what they learn results in the inability for them to truly be drivers in their own healthcare decisions. Information Asymmetry is one of the major factors that make the healthcare delivery system in the United States and other countries inefficient. The stakeholders, government, health plans, providers and employers play a pivotal role in reducing information asymmetry. Embracing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can effectively move from an unwired to a wired healthcare delivery system and support reducing information asymmetry. For Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHP) to succeed, consumers need information on price, quality, and cost for services. The conjecture here is that with minimization of information asymmetry, implicitly or explicitly, CDHP will drive healthcare cost down and make the healthcare market more efficient thereby reining in healthcare cost in the long-run.