Title
Preferences and choices for care and health insurance
Author
van den Berg, B.
van Dommelen, P.
Stam, P.
Laske-Aldershof, T.
Buchmueller, T.
Schut, F.T.
TNO Kwaliteit van Leven
Publication year
2008
Abstract
Legislation that came into effect in 2006 has dramatically altered the health insurance system in the Netherlands, placing greater emphasis on consumer choice and competition among insurers. The potential for such competition depends largely on consumer preferences for price and quality of service by insurers and quality of affiliated providers. This study provides initial evidence on the preferences of Dutch consumers and how they view trade-offs between various aspects of health insurance product design. A key feature of the analysis is that we compare the responses of high and low risk individuals, where risk is defined by the presence of a costly chronic condition. This contrast is critically important for understanding incentives facing insurers and for identifying potential unanticipated consequences of market competition. The results from our conjoint analysis suggest that not only high risk but also low risk individuals are willing to pay substantially more for insurance products that can be shown to provide better health outcomes. This suggests that insurance products that are more expensive and provide better quality of care may also attract low risk individuals. Therefore, development and dissemination of good, reliable and understandable health plan performance indicators may effectively reduce the problem of adverse selection. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Subject
Healthy for Life
Health
Healthy Living
Leefomgeving en gezondheid
Conjoint analysis
Health insurance
Managed competition
Preferences
The Netherlands
comparative study
consumption behavior
health and safety
health care
health insurance
health policy
incentive
insurance system
preference behavior
risk assessment
trade-off
adult
article
chronic disease
controlled study
decision making
female
health care quality
health insurance
high risk population
human
major clinical study
male
Adult
Choice Behavior
Chronic Disease
Economic Competition
Female
Humans
Insurance, Health
Male
Netherlands
Quality of Health Care
Risk Assessment
Benelux
Eurasia
Europe
Netherlands
Western Europe
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:d19726c2-4d74-414a-83c1-d6b3dd0bc951
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.02.021
TNO identifier
240824
ISSN
0277-9536
Source
Social Science and Medicine, 66 (12), 2448-2459
Document type
article