How are Seniors Choosing and Changing Health Insurance Plans?

Executive Summary
  1. For example, see Yaniv Hanoch, Thomas Rice, Janet Cummings, and Stacey Wood, How Much Choice is too Much? The Case of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit,” HSR 44(4):1157-1168, August 2009; Jeffrey R. Kling, Sendhil Mullainathan, et al., “Comparison Friction: Experimental Evidence from Medicare Drug Plans,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 127(1): 199-235, January 2012.; Jason T. Abaluck and Jonathan Gruber, “Choice Inconsistencies among the Elderly: Evidence from Plan Choice in the Medicare Part D Program,” American Economic Review 101(4): 1180-1210, June 2011; Florian Heiss, Adam Leive, Daniel McFadden, and Joachim Winter, “Plan Selection in Medicare Part D: Evidence from Administrative Data” (No. w18166), National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012.Hoadley Jack et al., “To Switch or Not to Switch: Are Medicare Beneficiaries Switching Drug Plans To Save Money?” Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2013; and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, March 2013; Shinobu Suzuki, “Medicare Part D’s Competitive Design: Do Part D Enrollees Switch Plans?” Academy Health, June 2013.

    ← Return to text

Introduction
  1. For example, see Yaniv Hanoch, Thomas Rice, Janet Cummings, and Stacey Wood, How Much Choice is too Much? The Case of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit,” HSR 44(4):1157-1168, August 2009; Jeffrey R. Kling, Sendhil Mullainathan, et al., “Comparison Friction: Experimental Evidence from Medicare Drug Plans,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 127(1): 199-235, January 2012.; Jason T. Abaluck and Jonathan Gruber, “Choice Inconsistencies among the Elderly: Evidence from Plan Choice in the Medicare Part D Program,” American Economic Review 101(4): 1180-1210, June 2011; Florian Heiss, Adam Leive, Daniel McFadden, and Joachim Winter, “Plan Selection in Medicare Part D: Evidence from Administrative Data” (No. w18166), National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012.Hoadley Jack et al., “To Switch or Not to Switch: Are Medicare Beneficiaries Switching Drug Plans To Save Money?” Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2013; and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, March 2013; Shinobu Suzuki, “Medicare Part D’s Competitive Design: Do Part D Enrollees Switch Plans?” Academy Health, June 2013.

    ← Return to text

  2. Hoadley, Jack, Laura Summer, Elizabeth Hargrave, and Juliette Cubanski, “Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans: The Marketplace in 2013 and Key Trends, 2006-2013,” Kaiser Family Foundation, December 2013.

    ← Return to text

  3. Gold, Marsha, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2014 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2014.

    ← Return to text

  4. Chou Zhou and Yuting Zhang, “The Vast Majority of Medicare Part D Beneficiaries Still Don’t Choose the Cheapest Plans That Meet Their Medication Needs,” Heath Affairs 31(10): 2259-2265, October 2012; Jason Abaluck and Jonathan Gruber, “Evolving Choice Inconsistencies in Choice of Prescription Drug Insurance,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 19163, June 2013; and Hoadley Jack et al., “To Switch or Not to Switch: Are Medicare Beneficiaries Switching Drug Plans To Save Money?” Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2013.

    ← Return to text

  5. Jacobson, Gretchen, Tricia Neuman, and Anthony Damico, “Transforming Medicare into a Premium Support System: Implications for Beneficiary Premiums,” Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2012.

    ← Return to text

  6. Jacobson, Gretchen, Tricia Neuman, Anthony Damico, and Jennifer Huang, “Medicare Advantage Plan Star Ratings and Bonus Payments in 2012,” Kaiser Family Foundation, November 2011; and Rachel O. Reid, Partha Deb, Benjamin L. Howell, and William H. Shrank, “Association Between Medicare Advantage Plan Star Ratings and Enrollment,” JAMA 309(3): 267-274, January 2013.

    ← Return to text

Methods
  1. Gold, Marsha, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Plan Availability and Premiums,” Kaiser Family Foundation, December 2012; and Hoadley, Jack, Laura Summer, Elizabeth Hargrave, and Juliette Cubanski, “Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans: The Marketplace in 2013 and Key Trends, 2006-2013,” Kaiser Family Foundation, December 2013.

    ← Return to text

  2. Gold, Marsha, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” Kaiser Family Foundation, June 2013; and Hoadley, Jack, Laura Summer, Elizabeth Hargrave, and Juliette Cubanski, “Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans: The Marketplace in 2013 and Key Trends, 2006-2013,” Kaiser Family Foundation, December 2013.

    ← Return to text

  3. Gold, Marsha, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Plan Availability and Premiums,” Kaiser Family Foundation, December 2012; Gold, Marsha, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” Kaiser Family Foundation, June 2013; and Jacobson, Gretchen, Tricia Neuman, and Anthony Damico, “Transforming Medicare into a Premium Support System: Implications for Beneficiary Premiums,” Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2012.

    ← Return to text

What factors lead beneficiaries to not be enrolled in the “lowest cost” health plan?
  1. Jacobson, Gretchen, Jennifer Huang, Tricia Neuman, and Karen E. Smith, “Income and Assets of Medicare Beneficiaries, 2013-2030,” Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2014.

    ← Return to text

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.