In this paper, we explore the role patient incentives play in slowing healthcare spending growth. Evidence suggests that while patients do indeed respond to financial incentives, cost-sharing does not uniformly improve value; rather, cost-sharing provisions must be deliberately structured and targeted to reduce care of low marginal value. Other mechanisms may be helpful in targeting particular ...

The sustainability of the healthcare system has been in question for several years. With rising healthcare costs, limited resources and an aging population, society needs to come up with innovative ideas to reduce healthcare spending. This paper attempts to illustrate how addressing goals of care can have a significant impact on healthcare costs.

Background The pursuit of equity in health and healthcare has been the key feature of health policy in India. However, despite the policy significance, the volume of literature available on this issue is scarce. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to examine the horizontal inequities in healthcare utilization, consisting of outpatient and inpatient care in 15 major states and north-eastern regi...

Background Both rising healthcare costs and the global financial crisis have fueled a search for policy tools in order to avoid unsustainable future financing of essential health benefits. The scope of essential health benefits (the range of services covered) and depth of coverage (the proportion of costs of the covered benefits that is covered publicly) are corresponding variables in determini...

BACKGROUND Place of residence has been shown to impact health. To date, however, previous studies have only focused on the variability in health outcomes and healthcare costs between urban and rural patients. This study takes a different approach and investigates cost inequality facing non-residing patients - patients who do not reside in the regions in which the hospitals are located. Understa...

background both rising healthcare costs and the global financial crisis have fueled a search for policy tools in order to avoid unsustainable future financing of essential health benefits. the scope of essential health benefits (the range of services covered) and depth of coverage (the proportion of costs of the covered benefits that is covered publicly) are corresponding variables in determini...

for more than three decades healthcare decentralization has been promoted in developing countries as a way of improving the financing and delivery of public healthcare. decision autonomy under healthcare decentralization would determine the role and scope of responsibility of local authorities. jalal mohammed, nicola north, and toni ashton analyze decision autonomy within decentralized services...