Neurology - Increasing Out-of-Pocket Costs for Neurologic Care for Privately-Insured Patients

Increasing Out-of-Pocket Costs for Neurologic Care for Privately-Insured Patients

Objective

To measure the out-of-pocket costs of evaluation and management (E/M) services and common diagnostic testing for neurology patients.

Conclusion

An increasing number of patients pay out-of-pocket for neurologic diagnostic services. These costs are rising and vary greatly across patients and tests. The cost sharing burden is particularly high for the growing population with HDHPs. In this setting, neurologic evaluation might result in financial hardship for patients.