Is fee-for-service the smoking gun for U.S. health care spending?

A Health Podyssey

This episode originally aired on November 10, 2020.

The U.S. health policy community recognizes that fee-for-service models incentivize physicians and health systems to perform more tasks than may be needed. And, these models can contribute to industry fragmentation as organizations chase revenue.

But is fee-for-service really the smoking gun when it comes to the high levels of U.S. health care spending?

The answer is, unsurprisingly, complicated.

To discuss, Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviews Dr. Michael K. Gusmano, professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and research scholar at The Hastings Center, to examine how physician payments are set in France, Germany, and Japan. These countries all employ fee-for-service models but pay less than the U.S. when it comes to health spending.

What can the U.S. learn from these countries? Is policy importation even possible?

Alan Weil and Dr. Gusmano explore these questions and more on A Health Podyssey.

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