Health Affairs

Health Affairs, 26, no. 3 (2007): 704-714 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.26.3.704 © 2007 by Project HOPE	New Online   Getting Health Reform Done   After the State of the Union   Incremental Reform   E-Health in Developing World   Most-Read Articles in 2009

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Consumer-Directed Health Care And The Courts: Let The Buyer (And Seller) Beware

Peter D. Jacobson and Michael R. Tunick

In consumer-directed health care, patients will be expected to exert greater control over their spending decisions than before. As consumer-directed care gains market acceptance, courts will inevitably be involved in resolving challenges to the new arrangements. We anticipate that courts will be generally favorable toward consumer-directed care, but the new legal doctrine will not uniformly favor medical professionals and insurers. The information demands inherent in consumer-directed care will present particular legal challenges to physicians and insurers. Even as courts provide flexibility to reflect the new market realities, they will closely monitor how consumer-directed care is implemented.

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