Langwell K
U.S. Congressional Budget Office.
Health Care Financ Rev. 1993 Spring;14(3):5-10.
Controlling health care costs requires that limits be placed either on prices, quantities of services, or both. Prices are measurable and more easily controlled than is quantity and, consequently, health care cost containment has frequently focused on mechanisms for controlling prices. Regulatory approaches, however, may create market distortions and change access patterns. An alternative approach to controlling prices is to restructure the market for health services to encourage greater price competition among providers. Because this type of health reform has not previously been attempted, there is much more uncertainty about the outcome of market-oriented approaches than for direct regulatory control over prices.
控制医疗保健成本要求对价格、服务数量或两者加以限制。价格是可衡量的，而且比数量更容易控制，因此，控制医疗保健成本常常侧重于控制价格的机制。然而，监管方法可能会造成市场扭曲并改变就医模式。控制价格的另一种方法是重组医疗服务市场，以鼓励供应商之间展开更激烈的价格竞争。由于此前从未尝试过这种医疗改革类型，与直接对价格进行监管控制相比，以市场为导向的方法的结果存在更多不确定性。
