Cost Containment Strategies in the United States: Role of Cost-Effectiveness Research

Abstract

The United States spends more of its gross domestic product on health care than any other industrialized nation. The benefits of this expenditure, however, are not directly recognized in improved health care. A number of interventions have been instituted throughout the health care system with the objective of improving benefits while reducing costs. Measures taken by Medicare and Medicaid, private insurance concerns, and managed care groups, including restricting drug formularies and performing drug utilization evaluations, however, have had limited success. In response to current pressures, cost-effectiveness studies and outcomes analyses are being implemented throughout the health care system. These methods aid in the objective evaluation of competing strategies and subsequent allocation of finite resources.