Researchers identified BCBSLA members that had integrated benefits and compared their medical spending trajectories to those of members without integrated benefits over a three-year period. They then repeated those comparisons for patients with chronic illnesses.
Among patients with chronic illnesses, medical spending per-member per-month was significantly lower in the integrated benefit group by the second and third years, the article said. Patients in the full population sample did not see a significant difference in medical spending.
