Findings from a recent study suggest that reference pricing could cause patients to choose lower-cost providers and cause providers to lower their prices modestly. In this study of reference pricing for three common surgical procedures (colonoscopy, cataract surgery and some types of joint arthroscopy), researchers examined whether providers respond to a shift in consumer demand by lowering their prices. Here’s the citation for the study: Whaley CM and Brown TT. “Firm Responses to Targeted Consumer Incentives: Evidence from Reference Pricing for Surgical Services.” Journal of Health Economics, 61:111-33. July 2018.
