Self-Pay Markets In Health Care: Consumer Nirvana Or Caveat Emptor?

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Abstract
As consumers face more incentives to make cost-conscious medical care de- cisions, some policymakers cite self-pay markets as models for consumer shopping. An analysis of the LASIK market revealed limited shopping overall, despite the fact that pa- tients pay the full cost. For other self-pay procedures, consumers shop even less, for rea- sons ranging from urgency, to costs of obtaining price quotes, to quality concerns that prompt many consumers to rely on word-of-mouth recommendations. Given that consumer shopping is not prevalent in most self-pay markets, we expect the extent of shopping to be even more limited for many services covered by insurance. (Health Affairs 26, no. 2 (2007): w217-w226 (published online 6 February 2007; 10.1377/hlthaff.26.2.w217))

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