How Regulatory Restrictions on Physician Dual Fee Schedules and Cash Pricing Make Health Care More Expensive

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State and federal regulatory restrictions on physician dual fee schedules and cash-based pricing contribute to increased health care costs. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.SYNTHESIS. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

David A. Hyman; Sidney Haitoff; Ge Bai

doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2026.2881

September 11, 2026JAMA Health ForumOpen Access

How Regulatory Restrictions on Physician Dual Fee Schedules and Cash Pricing Make Health Care More Expensive

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Key Points

To examine how state and federal regulatory restrictions on physician dual fee schedules and cash-based pricing contribute to rising health care expenditures.
Evaluated state and federal regulatory frameworks governing physician billing and restrictions on dual fee schedules.
Assessed health policy mechanisms linking limits on direct-pay cash pricing to aggregate health care expenditures.
Identified regulatory barriers that prevent physicians from discounting cash prices below contracted commercial insurance rates.
Found that restricting dual fee schedules suppresses market price competition and directly drives higher overall health care costs.

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Implication

Policy analysis demonstrates increased health care costs from restrictions on physician dual fee schedules, suggesting that flexible cash pricing promotes affordability.

Abstract

This Viewpoint discusses state and federal regulatory restrictions on physician dual fee schedules and cash-based pricing and describes associated increases in health care costs.

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Cite This Study

Hyman et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa7b29f0926e14a848b11d3 https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2026.2881

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How Regulatory Restrictions on Physician Dual Fee Schedules and Cash Pricing Make Health Care More Expensive

Key Points

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Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

How Regulatory Restrictions on Physician Dual Fee Schedules and Cash Pricing Make Health Care More Expensive

Key Points

Ask about this paper

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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