Reduction of Health Expenditure

Synonyms

Cost containment

Definition

Reduction of health expenditure implies a wide variety of strategies and measures to reduce overall health care expenditure , the growth rate of expenditure or certain costs of health care services. These measures include for example enhanced government regulation of the prices of health care services through changes in the payment method of providers, co-payments, managed care programs, patient education, etc. The reason for the trend of cost containment in health care is the upward spiral of medical expenses in all health care systems due to medical progress and an improvement of technology, the expansion of coverage by public health systems and aging populations in the industrial world with higher levels of chronic diseases and disability.

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Resource Allocation