--- title: "Report cards' effect on consumer health insurance choice. | Sutter Health" description: "Subjective measures of quality and coverage influence plan choices, after controlling for plan premiums, expected out-of-pocket expenses, and service coverages." url: "https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/report-card-effect-consumer-health-insur-choice-1055312552" --- 1. [Home](https://www.sutterhealth.org/) / 2. [Research](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research) / 3. [Research publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications) / 4. Report cards' effect on consumer health insurance choice. # The effect of report cards on consumer choice in the health insurance market. Wedig GJ & Tai-Seale M. _J Health Econ. 21(6):1031-48._ 2002-11-01 ## Abstract We test the effect of report cards on consumer choice in the HMO market. Federal employees were provided with report cards on a limited basis in 1995 and then on a widespread basis in 1996. Exploiting this natural experiment, we find that subjective measures of quality and coverage influence plan choices, after controlling for plan premiums, expected out-of-pocket expenses and service coverages. The effect is stronger within a small sample of new hires compared to a larger sample of existing federal employees. We also find evidence that report cards increase the price elasticity of demand for health insurance. [PubMed abstract](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=wedig%2C+tai-seale%2C+2002) ## Research topics - [Health Policy](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?query=%22%5C%22Health+Policy%5C%22%22) ## Related publications [View all publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?verticalKey=research_publication) - Publication ### [Commentary: It's more than just the price.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/commentary-its-more-than-just-the-price-1055312869) Health Serv Res. 2020 Aug;55(4):496-499. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13317. 2020 Aug 01 - Publication ### [Capacity building for assessing new technologies: approaches to examining personalized medicine in practice.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/capacity-building-for-assessing-new-technologies-1055312563) Van Bebber SL, Trosman JR, Liang SY, Wang G, Marshall DA, Knight S, Phillips KA. 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Health Aff (Millwood). 18(4):188-92. 1999 Jul 01 [View all publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?verticalKey=research_publication) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/report-card-effect-consumer-health-insur-choice-1055312552#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Research","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Research publications","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Report cards' effect on consumer health insurance choice."}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalScholarlyArticle","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/report-card-effect-consumer-health-insur-choice-1055312552#medicalscholarlyarticle","name":"The effect of report cards on consumer choice in the health insurance market.","headline":"Report cards' effect on consumer health insurance choice.","abstract":"We test the effect of report cards on consumer choice in the HMO market. 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