Dive Brief:

• Since the advent of consumer-driven healthcare, employers have tried reducing costs by giving workers ways to make smarter healthcare buying choices. But according to a New York Times blog, a recent study says that strategy is not working. 
• The Times reported that Sunita Desai, a fellow in health care policy at Harvard Medical School, worked with co-authors in studying a pair of employers who offered an online tool that empowers employees to comparison shop for stuff like lab tests and outpatient surgeries. After one year (2011-2012), just 10% used the tool. Worse, those who used it spent more out-of-pocket than employees at other employers who had no access to such a tool.
• Desai told the Times that employees might have forgotten they had the tools to shop. But even when they did use this particular tool, there was little incentive to go with the cheaper option. 

Dive Insight:

Some medical services and procedures cost more than their deductibles, meaning there was no incentive to pick the cheaper option. What about raising deductibles? No help, because other research found if deductibles are too high, doctor visits go down – an unhealthy and ultimately expensive proposition for employees with chronic disease, such as diabetes.

Medical provider relationships also might have gotten in the way, say the researchers.

For the strategy to get any traction, it may require some incentives by employers to drive employees to the lower cost provider. In the end, more information on price is nice, but not enough to move the needle on health care spending.