[The list patient scheme and the growth insurance expenditure in general practice].

BACKGROUND

Fee-for-item payments, mainly from the National Insurance Administration, are the main source of remuneration for primary care physicians in Norway. The aim of the present study was to describe the development in the National Insurance Administration's expenditure for primary physician services before and after the introduction of a list patient scheme in 2001.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The analyses were performed on data from the National Insurance Administration and data on the number of physician in relation to population from Statistics Norway.

RESULTS

During the period 1998-2003, expenditure increased by 84%, from NOK 1.37 billion to NOK 2.52 billion. The main finding is that nearly all the increase can be explained by increases in the number of physicians, population size and the level of fees.

INTERPRETATION

One interpretation of our findings is that to a large extent the National Insurance Administration's expenditure on primary physician services can be controlled by regulating the number of physicians and the level of fees.