Health policy Discussion 3 : Patient Perspectives and Obligations

In your opinion, what obligation do consumers of insurance—specifically, patients with health insurance—have to understand how health insurance operates? Do you think the average patient understands his or her insurance benefits? How might past patient experience with health insurance impact future patient behavior?

What kinds of policy decisions can be made at the state level to improve patient understanding of health insurance? What steps can healthcare providers take to improve patient understanding? What steps should healthcare providers take to improve patient understanding?