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Choosing among employer-sponsored health plans: what drives employee choices?
Janet Schwartz1, Nortin M Hadler, Dan Ariely
1Department of Marketing, A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
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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