Who Might Respond to Financial Incentives That Use Lower Cost Sharing to Change Behavior? Findings from the 2010 Health Confidence Survey

20 Pages Posted: 17 Dec 2010

See all articles by Paul Fronstin

Paul Fronstin

Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)

Date Written: December 1, 2010

Abstract

This paper examines whether health care consumers would be interested in, or might find useful, financial incentives that are aimed at changing an individual’s health behavior. Understanding how individuals respond to financial incentives in their health coverage is crucial to the design of plans that are effective in steering them to high-quality, cost-effective providers. Data for this paper are from the EBRI/MGA 2010 Health Confidence Survey (HCS), a survey that examines a broad spectrum of health care issues, including Americans’ satisfaction with health care today, their confidence in the future of the health care system and the Medicare program, and their attitudes toward health care reform. The impact of incentives varies with selected demographics: There was no significant difference between men and women, but younger individuals were more likely than older ones to report that incentives to choose the most effective treatment would be extremely or very useful. There is also evidence that minorities and lower-income individuals are more likely to find lower cost-sharing incentives useful when it comes to using more effective treatments. No difference was found by education level. Individuals who are not satisfied with the quality of care they have received are more likely to report that lower cost sharing would be a useful incentive to choose a more effective treatment.

The PDF for the above title, published in the December 2010 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another December 2010 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Employee Tenure Trend Lines, 1983-2010.”

Keywords: Employment-Based Benefits, Health Care Attitudes and Opinions, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Health Care Utilization

JEL Classification: I1, J32

Suggested Citation

Fronstin, Paul, Who Might Respond to Financial Incentives That Use Lower Cost Sharing to Change Behavior? Findings from the 2010 Health Confidence Survey (December 1, 2010). EBRI Notes, Vol. 31, No. 12, December 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1726522

Paul Fronstin (Contact Author)

Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) ( email )

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