Chronic diseases account for a significant portion of healthcare costs and deaths in the US. While efforts to control spending have focused on reducing benefits or shifting costs to patients, this strategy can impose disproportionate burdens on vulnerable groups such as the poor and those with chronic conditions. Financial barriers to chronic disease care, such as copayments and coinsurance, can lower drug compliance and increase use of expensive hospital services. One study found that 33 to 69 percent of medication-related hospital admissions in the US are due to poor adherence and cost $100 billion a year. A counterintuitive approach may be more effective: reducing or eliminating patient cost-sharing for chronic disease care for certain patients can improve patient outcomes and save money.
