Prior research has shown that prescription drug spending grew substantially during the decade of the 1990s. This analysis uses 1996 to 1998 State Medicaid Research File (SMRF) fee-for-service (FFS) data for 29 participating States to provide insight into the factors driving this growth. The analysis examines cost variation by census region, State, Medicaid basis of eligibility, and therapeutic ...

We study physicians’ incentives to use personalised medicine techniques, replicating the physician’s trade-offs under option of information. In a laboratory experiment conducted in two French Universities, prospective physicians played real-effort game. vary both information structure (free access versus paid information) and payment scheme (pay-for-performance (P4P), capitation (CAP) fee-for-s...

Patients and payers (government and private) are frustrated with the fee-for-service system (FFS) of payment for outpatient health services. FFS rewards volume and highly valued services, including expensive diagnostics and therapeutics, over lesser valued cognitive services. Proposed payment schemes would incent collaboration and coordination of care among providers and reward quality. In onco...

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization calls for more work evaluating the effect of health care reforms on gender equity in developed countries. We performed this evaluation in Ontario, Canada where primary care models resulting from reforms co-exist. METHODS This cross sectional study of primary care practices uses data collected in 2005-2006. Healthcare service models included in the stud...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initiated the Physician Group Practice (PGP) Demonstration to provide participating practices the opportunity to earn performance payments for improving the quality and cost-efficiency of health care delivered to Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries. This report discusses experiences of the participating practices, as well the implications ...

PRINCETON, NJ ANN ARBOR, MI CAMBRIDGE, MA CHICAGO, IL OAKLAND, CA WASHINGTON, DC Controlling health care’s rising cost, while simultaneously expanding its availability and quality, is a top priority for policymakers at all levels of government. Increasingly, both private and public payers are experimenting with alternative payment models designed to improve care and slow spending. The U.S. Depa...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between newly introduced primary care models in Ontario, Canada, and patients' primary care and total health care costs. A specific focus is on the payment mechanisms for primary care physicians, i.e. fee-for-service (FFS), enhanced-FFS, and blended capitation, and whether providers practiced as part of a multidisciplinary team...