Virtual health is the sum of telehealth (patient–provider communication at a distance) and autonomous health (electronic devices communicating with providers and patients at a distance). The COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant social distancing led to a sharp increase in the use of virtual...

This paper compares the cost and quality incentive effects of cost reimbursement and prospective payment systems in the health industry when providers are altruistic. Providers' behavioral rule is governed by a desire to maximize a weighted sum of profit and consumers' health benefit. When...

This article analyzes the shifts of power relation and influence between pharmaceutical industry (producers), pharmacies, and social health insurers (SHI) in Germany based on drug prices. Since the health care reform of 2004, these interest groups have negotiated fees and discounts among each...

A major reason behind crowding in emergency departments (ED) is non-urgent patients' visits to ED. In this paper we investigate how non-urgent ED visits are influenced by patients' imperfect perception of their urgency and their self-interested choice, and we explore interventions that can...

In this paper, we investigate in a controlled laboratory experiment physician behavior in the case of payment heterogeneity. In the experiment, each physician provides medical care to patients whose treatments are paid for either under fee-for-service (FFS) or capitation (CAP). We observe that...

This study examines whether health care is affected by Baumol’s cost disease in a scenario of no growth. Baumol's model implies that stagnant sectors are driven by wage increases in excess of productivity growth. But in a no growth economy the income is constant. It is investigated in two...

Many countries with generous social insurance are currently forced to cut back or modify their systems. At the same time many developing countries lack social insurance for large segments of the population. Health accounts may offer a way of implementing health insurance that keeps a lid on...

Introduction: The treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis is toxic, has contraindications and a high cost.Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of thermotherapy versus pentavalent antimonials for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.Methods: Effectiveness was the proportion of healing,...

We explore the feasibility of catastrophic health insurance established in conjunction with individual health accounts (IHAs). Under this plan, the employer establishes both a high-deductible health insurance plan and an IHA. Employee health care costs below the deductible are then paid out of...