In a study published in the journal Health Affairs (subscription required) and reported in the Star Tribune, there's another challenge to the notion that more choice in health care lowers costs.
Excerpts from the Star Tribune:
Going to a MinuteClinic is cheaper for patients than going to a physician's office or urgent care, but there is no evidence that the advent of the popular retail clinics reduced medical costs overall.Posted by schwitz at September 10, 2008 07:54 AM | TrackBackA study published today found prices charged by all providers rose by double digits over the four years tracked, a trend that went against the conventional wisdom that more providers leads to more competition and lower prices. ...
"The data does not support the idea that MinuteClinic or other retail clinics has had any negative impact on rising health-care costs," said the study's author, Dr. Marcus Thygeson, an associate medical director at HealthPartners.
Even if a large number of HealthPartners members switched to retail clinics, the immediate savings would be relatively small, Thygeson said.
What tends to happen, he said, is other providers will raise their charges to make up for lost revenue.
It would be interesting to see the cost impact for the patient. For example, can they stop by the Minute Clinic on their work break verses having to take an entire day off of work to see the doctor.
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