Effect of cost-sharing on the use of medical services by children: interim results from a randomized controlled trial.
Health care expenditures of 1,136 children whose families participated in a randomized trial, The Rand Health Insurance Experiment, are reported. Children whose families were assigned to receive 100% reimbursement for health costs spent one third more per capita than children whose families paid 95% of medical expenses up to a family maximum. Outpatient use decreased as cost-sharing rose for a variety of use measures: the probability of seeing a doctor, annual expenditures, number of visits per year, and numbers of outpatient treatment episodes. Hospital expenditures did not vary significantly among children insured with varying levels of cost-sharing. Episodes of treatment for preventive care were as responsive to cost-sharing as episodes for acute or chronic illness. The results give no reason not to insure preventive care as liberally as care for acute illness.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003669:Deductibles and Coinsurance; D006296:Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States