Reference-Based Pricing

The featured guest on this week's program is Dr. Christopher Whaley, an adjunct professor of health policy at UC Berkley and RAND Corporaton researcher, who also works with Castlight Health on research studies. In today's interview, Dr. Whaley will discuss how reference-based pricing helps employers and patients lower costs of care.  


Reference-based pricing is a type of benefit design that enables an employer to establish the maximum amount it will cover for a specific service. This maximum amount is the reference price. If their employee should choose to receive care for that service at a location that charges more than the reference price, the employee will be responsible for paying the amount above the reference price.