title: A responsible method of making healthcare choices.
abstract: The essential problem in healthcare has never been fee-for-service. The problem is third-party payment that inevitably leads to excessive demand for services. Third-party payers will always try to limit the use and cost of services to reduce their exposure. The big question facing us in the next 10 years is who decides what gets paid for and what doesn't. Will it be employers, insurers, the government? Or it will it be consumers? Many employers have concluded that Americans are perfectly capable of expressing their preferences and choices in healthcare. But they need to understand that resources are limited and trade-offs are required.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scandlen
mesh_terms: D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000191:economics*; D003363:Cost Control; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; D011050:Policy Making; D014481:United States