Paying patients to shift to lower-price providers could be a successful option for helping employers and insurers lower healthcare costs, a new study in Health Affairs suggests.

Researchers looked at the impact of a program that rewards people who agreed to receive one of the 131 elective procedures from a designated lower-price provider. The checks ranged from $25 to $500, depending on the price and service. Over 12 months, prices paid for the targeted services dipped 2.1%, leading to $2.3 million in savings, or about $8 per person. The biggest effects were seen in MRI and ultrasounds, with no noticeable price drop in surgical procedures.

Reward programs could prompt more people to think about shopping for healthcare, which is in line with price compare apps and a push for more transparency on hospital prices from CMS. And patients appear to be fed up with rising costs, too.

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