Imagine this basic scenario: You are out of milk. You could go to your local convenience store and purchase a gallon for $3. But instead, you drive 25 miles to buy the identical gallon of milk for $5 at a large chain grocery store.
If this sounds absurd, that’s because it is. However it’s analogous to current health care payment policies that allow significantly higher reimbursements for health care services provided in certain settings, when identical, more convenient, and less expensive care in alternative settings exists.