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Activity Number:
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529
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Type:
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Topic Contributed
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Date/Time:
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Wednesday, August 3, 2016 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
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Sponsor:
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Health Policy Statistics Section
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Abstract #318867
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Title:
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Insurance Premiums and Patient Experience: Do You Get What You Pay for in Medicare Advantage Plans?
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Author(s):
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Amelia M. Haviland* and Sai MA and Katrin Hambarsoomian and Marc N. Elliott
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Companies:
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Carnegie Mellon University and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and RAND Corporation and RAND Corporation
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Keywords:
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health policy ;
mixed-effect regression ;
Medicare ;
health care costs
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Abstract:
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Little is known about the relationship between health insurance costs and health care quality. We investigate this relationship for members of the Medicare population enrolled in private Medicare Advantage (MA) coverage. Separate mixed-effect regression models are implemented to predict each of nine Medicare CAHPS quality-of-care measures from plan premiums using nationally representative 2014 MA CAHPS data (n= 184,764). Models include random effects for plan and location, in addition to fixed effects for beneficiary characteristics. In secondary models we add contract and plan characteristics to investigate these as possible mechanisms through which higher premiums predict patient experience. Medicare beneficiaries in plans with higher premiums report significantly better experiences with seven of the nine dimensions of quality of care studied (and no relationship with the other two). While in the larger population higher prices for medical services have not been found to be associated with higher quality care, higher plan premiums for Medicare beneficiaries are associated with notably higher quality of care.
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Authors who are presenting talks have a * after their name.
