All-payer rate setting is a price setting mechanism in which all third parties pay the same price for services at a given hospital.[1] It can be used to increase the market power of payers (such as private and/or public insurance companies) versus providers, such as hospital systems, in order to control costs. All-payer characteristics are found in most developed economies with multi-payer healthcare systems, including France, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands.[2] The U.S. state of Maryland also uses such a model.[1]
The All-payer rate setting have been proposed in the United States as a healthcare reform measure. The proposal for a public option (a voluntary, publicly sponsored insurance plan similar to Medicare) has been cited as indirectly sharing some of the same goals as all-payer rate-setting systems.[2]