Should insurance pay for very expensive medical technologies that bring only a small benefit to patients?

SHD's 2006 project explored this timely and controversial subject. Its final report is available: Getting Good Value - Consumers debate costly treatments: is the gain worth the expense?

Project description

Advances in medical science can bring tremendous benefit to individuals and to society. They also can drive up the cost of healthcare, resulting in coverage being unaffordable to millions of Americans. Can we get better value for our healthcare dollars than we are getting now? To do so, should we be setting higher standards on what insurance should pay for?

In 2006, SHD engaged 27 groups of consumers in thought-provoking discussions about whether new high-tech medical treatments are always worth their cost. Almost 300 participants discussed whether society should begin looking at the value (the relationship between cost and benefit) of new procedures and drugs when considering them for insurance coverage.

This project was funded through a grant from California HealthCare Foundation.