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Medical Care Research and Review, Vol. 63, No. 6,
701-718 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1077558706293636
Do Content and Format Affect Older Consumers’ Use of Comparative Information in a Medicare Health Plan Choice? Results from a Controlled Experiment
Jennifer D. Uhrig
RTI International
Lauren Harris-Kojetin
Institute for the Future of Aging Services, AAHSA
Carla Bann
RTI International
Tzy-Mey Kuo
RTI International
We assessed the efficacy of materials that integrated comparative information on cost, benefits, and quality for employer-based retiree health plans and Medicare Advantage plans in a randomized experiment to test the impact of content and format. Results indicate that older consumers who received the intervention materials found the materials easier to use, gained greater knowledge about Medicare from them, were more likely to value comparative quality information, were more likely to select higher quality plans, and were more likely to choose a plan that reflected the dimensions they found most important compared to older consumers receiving the control materials.
Key Words: Medicare • health insurance • health plan choice • CAHPS • HEDIS
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