TY - JOUR

T1 - An economic analysis of payment for health care services

T2 - the United States and Switzerland compared

AU - Zweifel, Peter

AU - Tai-Seale, Ming

PY - 2009/6/1

Y1 - 2009/6/1

N2 - This article seeks to assess whether physician payment reforms in the United States and Switzerland were likely to attain their objectives. We first introduce basic contract theory, with the organizing principle being the degree of information asymmetry between the patient and the health care provider. Depending on the degree of information asymmetry, different forms of payment induce "appropriate" behavior. These theoretical results are then pitted against the RBRVS of the United States to find that a number of its aspects are not optimal. We then turn to Switzerland's Tarmed and find that it fails to conform with the prescriptions of economic contract theory as well. The article closes with a review of possible reforms that could do away with uniform fee schedules to improve the performance of the health care system.

AB - This article seeks to assess whether physician payment reforms in the United States and Switzerland were likely to attain their objectives. We first introduce basic contract theory, with the organizing principle being the degree of information asymmetry between the patient and the health care provider. Depending on the degree of information asymmetry, different forms of payment induce "appropriate" behavior. These theoretical results are then pitted against the RBRVS of the United States to find that a number of its aspects are not optimal. We then turn to Switzerland's Tarmed and find that it fails to conform with the prescriptions of economic contract theory as well. The article closes with a review of possible reforms that could do away with uniform fee schedules to improve the performance of the health care system.

KW - Clinical Competence

KW - Costs and Cost Analysis

KW - Cross-Cultural Comparison

KW - Health Services

KW - Humans

KW - Models, Econometric

KW - Physicians

KW - Reimbursement Mechanisms

KW - Switzerland

KW - Time Factors

KW - United States

KW - Management studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67349268138&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10754-009-9061-7

DO - 10.1007/s10754-009-9061-7

M3 - Scientific review articles

C2 - 19357947

VL - 9

SP - 197

EP - 210

JO - International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics

JF - International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics

SN - 1389-6563

IS - 2

ER -