New Health Insurance Study Findings Recently Were Reported by Researchers at Boston University (How product standardization affects choice: Evidence…

Managed Care Weekly Digest

New Health Insurance Study Findings Recently Were Reported by Researchers at Boston University (How product standardization affects choice: Evidence from the Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- Data detailed on Health Insurance have been presented. According to news originating from Boston, Massachusetts, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "This paper examines the effect of choice architecture on Massachusetts' Health Insurance Exchange. A policy change standardized cost-sharing parameters of plans across insurers and altered information presentation."

Funders for this research include Lab for Economic Applications and Policy, Boston University, Wharton internal research funds (see also Health Insurance).

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Boston University, "Post-change, consumers chose more generous plans and different brands, but were not more price-sensitive. We use a discrete choice model that allows the policy to affect how attributes are valued to decompose the policy's effects into a valuation effect and a product availability effect. The brand shifts are largely explained by the availability effect and the generosity shift by the valuation effect."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "A hypothetical choice experiment replicates our results and explores alternative counterfactuals."

For more information on this research see: How product standardization affects choice: Evidence from the Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange. Journal of Health Economics, 2016;50():71-85. Journal of Health Economics can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Bv, PO Box 211, 1000 Ae Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of Health Economics - www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-health-economics/)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from K.M.M. Ericson, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, United States.

Keywords for this news article include: Boston, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America, Health Insurance, Boston University.