Checklist: Utilization of the newly insured

With increased coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), insurers are expecting an influx of enrollees. One study shows there is no such thing as an average patient, and comparisons can be misleading.

A recent study from the IMS Institute of Healthcare Informatics indicates that using Medicare as a template-which is often the case in policy research-is too "one size fits all" when compared to the privately insured, under-65 population. A glance at the ratio of outpatient to inpatient expenditures for both populations confirms this.

The report concludes that there is no such thing as an average patient. Using Medicare as a template will only make insurers unable to provide quality healthcare packages and optimal services.