Document Type

Article

Original Publication Date

2012

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Medical Care Research Review

Volume

69

Issue

4

First Page

460

Last Page

473

DOI of Original Publication

10.1177/1077558711435365

Comments

This work was supported by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Award in Health Policy Research No. 57585. The views expressed imply no endorsement by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Date of Submission

March 2015

Abstract

Because many seniors choose Medicare Part D plans offering poorer coverage at greater cost, the authors examined the effect of price frames, brand names, and choice set size on participants' ability to choose the lowest cost plan. A 2×2×2 within-subjects design was used with 126 participants aged 18 to 91 years old. Mouselab, a web-based program, allowed participants to choose drug plans across eight trials that varied using numeric or symbolic prices, real or fictitious drug plan names, and three or nine drug plan options. Results from the multilevel models suggest numeric versus symbolic prices decreased the likelihood of choosing the lowest cost plan (-8.0 percentage points, 95% confidence interval=-14.7 to -0.9). The likelihood of choosing the lowest cost plan decreased as the amount of information increased suggesting that decision cues operated independently and collectively when selecting a drug plan. Redesigning the current Medicare Part D plan decision environment could improve seniors' drug plan choices.

Rights

© The Author(s) 2012. This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Med Care Res Rev August 2012 vol. 69 no. 4 460-473. The final publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077558711435365.

Is Part Of

VCU Healthcare Policy and Research Publications

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