title: The impact of health plan report cards on managed care enrollment.
abstract: How does the release of health plan performance ratings influence employee health plan choice? A natural experiment at General Motors (GM) Corporation provides valuable evidence on this question. During the 1997 open enrollment period, GM disseminated a health plan report card for the first time. By comparing 1996 and 1997 enrollment patterns, our analysis estimates the impact of the report card information while accounting for fixed, unobserved plan traits. Results indicate that employees are less likely to enroll in plans requiring relatively high out-of-pocket contributions. Results with respect to report card ratings suggest that individuals avoid health plans with many below average ratings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy & Administration, Center for Health Policy Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802-6500, USA. dpscanlon@psu.edu
authors.forename: Dennis P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Scanlo
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chernew
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mclaughlin
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Solon
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003669:Deductibles and Coinsurance; D005249:Fees and Charges; D005382:Financing, Personal; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards*; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D018854:Managed Competition; D008824:Michigan; D017059:Models, Econometric; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care