Health plan restraints hamper choices

NIJMEGEN, Netherlands, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Public reports on health plans might motivate patients to choose better providers, if not constrained by doctor access and costs, Dutch researchers said.

Lead author Marjan Faber of the Center for Quality of Care Research of the Radboud University Nijmegen and colleagues analyzed 14 U.S. studies on consumer health plan choices to shed light on why people repeatedly say they are interested in quality when it comes to healthcare plans, but rarely make it a priority when they choose their providers.

Cost and physician choice "clearly influence the weight given to quality information within a health plan setting," Faber said.

In particular, features such as premiums, out-of-pocket costs, the ability to keep one's own doctor and customer service all compete with quality information when it comes to choosing a provider, the review found.

In most studies, quality data came from the Consumer Assessment of Health care Providers and Systems program, a public-private initiative led by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research that collects information from a variety of surveys of patient care.

The review, published in the January issue of Medical Care, said most people do not have a lot of time to research new plans, and "many consumers in the Unites States are increasingly constrained by reductions in health plan options and the benefits covered."