The increasing prevalence of high-deductible health plans among insurers can cause headaches for a clinical practice, with physicians feeling stuck when they recommend care not covered by a patient's policy.

One example in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s story focuses on gynecologist David Deitrick, DO, and a patient who needed a procedure to determine whether an abnormal Pap smear test was due to a treatable infection or something more serious, such as cervical cancer.

That procedure hasn’t been performed 10 months after the test results because the patient’s insurer won’t cover it at an outpatient surgical center—and going to a hospital would inflate the bill with facility fees.

“It’s difficult to talk to people about it,” Deitrick said. "It’s actually embarrassing."

Beyond affecting patient care, high-deductible plans cause problems for administrative staff who have to spend more time checking network eligibility, all while getting blamed when a bigger-than-expected bill lands on the patient.

For more on these challenges, and why some physicians are even considering switching to direct-pay, insurance-free model of care, click on the link below: