Price: a market signal of quality in health care insurance policies?
Choosing a good quality health insurance policy is important for most individuals in this country. The choice task is however, made quite complicated by the existence of many alternative policies which are each characterized by multiple attributes. This paper examines whether the price (i.e., premium) of a health insurance plan can give a reliable signal about the objective quality level of the plan. Empirical analysis of real-world data shows that overall, price is positively correlated with such quality. Statistical significance tests are conducted to separately evaluate such correlations for different categories of health insurances. Finally, the empirical results are used to indicate implications for consumer decision making.
Arizona State University West.
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CG
Dasgupta
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S
Ghose
D003256:Community Participation / Q000191:economics*; D003625:Data Collection; D003657:Decision Making; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005249:Fees and Charges / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D014481:United States