Participation in Alternative Health Plans
The Role of Financial Incentives in Medicare Beneficiaries' Decisions
ResearchPublished 1991
The Role of Financial Incentives in Medicare Beneficiaries' Decisions
ResearchPublished 1991
Medicare beneficiaries choosing to enroll in an alternative health plan (AHP) must make a tradeoff between restricted choice of provider and financial incentives to enroll in the plan. This study examines this tradeoff empirically by estimating a model of beneficiary plan choice using survey data in which beneficiaries were asked to state a preference between several hypothetical AHPs and their current Medicare coverage. The results show that a substantial financial incentive is necessary to attract beneficiaries. For an incentive of a given amount, plans that provide financial protection against high-cost hospitalizations or long-term care are more attractive than plans that offer additional ambulatory benefits.
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