Outpatient surgery: helping to contain health care costs (ABSTRACT), Monthly Labor Review Online, Nov. 1992

Outpatient surgery: helping to contain health care costs

Robert B. Grant
Economist, Division of Occupational Pay and Employee Benefit Levels, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Rising costs are prompting insurers to offer incentives or provisions to guide patients toward less expensive outpatient services. This article examines benefits provided by health care plans for inpatient and outpatient surgery, and discusses the plans' incentives for encouraging outpatient surgery. It also explores some reasons for and against choosing outpatient, rather than inpatient, surgery.

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