Do high-deductible health plans affect price paid for childbirth?

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To test whether out-of-pocket costs and negotiated hospital prices for childbirth change after enrollment in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and whether price effects differ in markets with more hospitals.

Data sources

Administrative medical claims data from 2010 to 2014 from three large commercial insurers with plans in all U.S. states provided by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).

Study design

I identify employer groups that switched from non-HDHPs in 1 year to HDHPs in a subsequent year. I estimate enrollees' change in out-of-pocket costs and negotiated hospital prices for childbirth after HDHP switch, relative to a comparison group of employers that do not switch plans. I use a triple-difference design to estimate price changes for enrollees in

SUBMITTER: Cliff BQ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8763287 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature