A study looks at how a value-based insurance program in Connecticut raised medical-advice compliance as shown by patients having more preventive visits and adhering more rigorously to medication directives.

MedPage Today, citing a HealthAffairs article, says “Giving patients economic incentives to participate in health screenings and take their prescribed medications resulted in decreased hospitalizations and increased medication adherence….”

“The positive results in this case should encourage other payers to incorporate reduced cost sharing for high-value services across entire episodes of care in their benefit plans,” wrote Richard Hirth, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, and colleagues in the April issue of Health Affairs.