Press release: “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) today announced a new guide to help employers, private health plans, the federal government, and state Medicaid agencies as they consider consumer financial incentives as part of an overarching strategy to improve the quality of health care and get better value for what they spend on services.
Consumer financial incentives are either a reward offered to influence patients to behave in a particular way, or, less often, a penalty for failing to do so. By using financial incentives, health care purchasers hope to encourage patients to take actions that either may improve the results of their treatment—such as selecting a high-quality physician, reducing or eliminating high-risk behaviors and using preventive services—or may reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary emergency room visits and decreasing preventable hospitalizations.”