PEDIATRICS Vol. 65 No. 1 January 1980, pp. 168-170
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Consumer Cost-Sharing as a Means to Reduce Health Care Costs

Stephen M. Davidson PhD1, John P. Connelly MD1, R. Don Blim MD1, James E. Strain MD1, and H. Doyl Taylor JD1

1 Division of Health Services, Research and Development, American Academy of Pediatrics, Evanston, Illinois

The National Commission on the Cost of Medical Care1 states in part (Recommendation 2) that "insurance policies should include provisions through which the consumer shares in the cost of care received, at the time of service, for selected benefits and for selected groups...." These cost-sharing provisions are expected to reduce national medical care expenditures by encouraging consumers to reduce their use of services in order to avoid paying additional money out of their own pockets. They will thus moderate the demand-inducing tendency of insurance, leading the rational consumer to seek only necessary services and to forego those services contributing to what is believed to be over-utilization. As the Commission states in its supporting statement: