"Substantial Minority" of People Equate High Healthcare Costs with High Healthcare Quality

The March 2012 issue of Health Affairs published an AHRQ funded study that found consumer selection of healthcare providers may gravitate towards higher cost options when clear quality information is not also presented. This is contrary to the intended outcome of the cost transparency movement in healthcare.

The AHRQ press release can be found here: http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2012/highvaluepr.htm

The Health Affairs abstract (and article for purchase) can be found here: http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/3/560.abstract

A powerpoint presentation summarizing this study's findings can be found here: http://www.ahrq.gov/about/annualconf11/hibbard_mehrotra/hibbard.pptx

The following are excerpts from the AHRQ press release associated with the publication of this study:

When asked to choose a health care provider based only on cost, consumers choose the more expensive option, according to a new study funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) that appears in the March issue of Health Affairs.

The study found that consumers equate cost with quality and worry that lower cost means lower quality care. But higher costs may indicate unnecessary services or inefficiencies, so cost information alone does not help consumers get the best value for their health care dollar, according to the study.

The study, entitled "An Experiment Shows That a Well-Designed Report on Costs and Quality Can Help Consumers Choose High-Value Health Care," found that when consumers were shown the right mix of cost and quality information, they were better able to choose high-value health care providers—defined as those who deliver high-quality care at a lower cost.

The study explored a number of ways to present cost and quality information effectively, using combinations of symbols such as dollar signs and stars, specific information such as dollar amounts and percentages, and labels such as "appropriate use" or "better." Consumers were more likely to choose high-value providers when presented with strong, unambiguous quality and cost information. In addition, a check mark indicating a "high-value" provider, along with the cost and quality information, also helped consumers use the information to make high-value choices. Given strong quality signals, consumers were also more confident in their choices.