The study compared privately-run Medicare Advantage plans, finding that plans that increased their copays for outpatient care lost more money on increased hospitalization costs than they gained from reduced inpatient care.

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Other consequences are the increased costs associated with prolonged illnesses, including expenses for additional tests, treatments and hospitalization, and indirect costs, such as lost income.

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Chronic disease patients, who account for the majority of health care costs, risk complications and hospitalization one out of three, when they skip their drugs or fail to take them properly.

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