Article

Choosing Among Employer-Sponsored Health Plans: What Drives Employee Choices?

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Abstract

Objective: To probe employee basis for choosing health plans. Methods: In a Web study, 337 employees from large private and public employers were asked to choose among health plans varying on several common dimensions. Results: On per-dollar basis, respondents were more willing to spend $3 to $4 on out-of-pocket copayments than $1 on premiums. Nevertheless, sensitivity to monthly premium is greatest among those who are younger and cover only themselves, whereas sensitivity to the annual deductible is greatest among nonwhite families. Conclusion: Employees are facing a complicated choice and might be well-served by more information about the value of options under different likelihood scenarios.

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... Specifically, those who were single had an 84% take up of ESI and 8% remained uninsured. Further support, from a recent study by Schwartz et al (2013), found that workers gave the most weight to monthly premiums and co-payments when deciding between coverage options. Varying on age and number of dependents, workers under 40 years of age were more willing to spend marginal dollars on out-of-pocket co-payments than monthly insurance premiums, whereas those over 40 years of age, in anticipation of co-payments, put more weight on co-payments and less on monthly premiums. ...
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Awaiting Health Law's Prognosis
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Out-of-Pocket Expenditures on Health Care Among the Nonelderly Population
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