Insurers (including Medicare and Medicaid) should be required to let their enrollees keep 100 percent of the savings from price shopping for care. So, for instance, if a patient opts for a surgeon charging $4,000 for a procedure, and the insurer would normally pay $5,000 for the service, the patient should get to keep the $1,000 from choosing the lower-priced option.
This is much easier to do with a a Heath Savings AccountÂ