Employee Response to Health Plan Performance Ratings
University of Michigan
03/01/99 - 02/28/01
Dennis P. Scanlon, Department of Health Policy and Administration
The goal of this project was to examine how the release of health plan performance information influences employee health plan choices. Belief in the importance of information in today's health insurance marketplace has led to the development and dissemination of health plan report cards by employers, the media, and consumer advocacy organizations. These report cards attempt to measure plan performance along various dimensions and are often based on the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS).
This analysis was based on the health plan choices of employees of General Motors Corporation (GM) for two open enrollment periods and exploited two sources of variation to identify the impact of information on plan choice. First, health plan choices were observed both before and after the firm released HEDIS based plan performance ratings to non-union employees. Second, the behavior of union employees, who were not given such information, was used to control for other factors that may have changed and affected health plan choice.
Related Publications
Scanlon, D.P., M.E. Chernew, C. McLaughlin and G. Solon (2002). "The Impact of Health Plan Report Cards on Managed Care Enrollment." Journal of Health Economics. 21(1):19-42.