Engaged Consumers in Health and Health Care
Engaged Consumers in Health and Health Care
In these days of rapidly rising health care costs and retreat from tightly managed systems of care, many health care theorists and business leaders believe that greater consumer involvement in health care decisions and financing is the answer to controlling health care costs and, to a lesser extent, to improving quality. They advocate more consumer responsibility by asking consumers to pay more for the health goods and services they use. Some believe that paying more will give consumers the incentive they need to make rational and value-based decisions, which will bring about better products and services at better prices by setting true market forces in play. Are consumers the answer? Can they fix health care, and what do consumers think about assuming more responsibility in health and health care decisions and financing?
Publication Date
March 2003