Controlling Health Care Costs through Limited Network Insurance Plans: Evidence from Massachusetts State Employees
We investigate the impact of limited network insurance plans in the context of the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC), the insurance plan for state employees. Our quasi-experimental analysis examines the introduction of a major financial incentive to choose limited network plans that aff...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/110246 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9877-3065 |
| _version_ | 1826203993535152128 |
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| author | Gruber, Jonathan McKnight, Robin |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics Gruber, Jonathan McKnight, Robin |
| author_sort | Gruber, Jonathan |
| collection | MIT |
| description | We investigate the impact of limited network insurance plans in the context of the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC), the insurance plan for state employees. Our quasi-experimental analysis examines the introduction of a major financial incentive to choose limited network plans that affected a subset of GIC enrollees. We find that enrollees are very price sensitive in their decision to enroll in limited network plans. Those who switched spent almost 40 percent less on medical care. This reflects reductions in the quantity of services and prices paid per service. The spending reductions came from specialist and hospital care, while spending on primary care rose. (JEL G22, H75, I11, I13, J45) |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:47:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/110246 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:47:08Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1102462022-10-01T11:06:35Z Controlling Health Care Costs through Limited Network Insurance Plans: Evidence from Massachusetts State Employees Gruber, Jonathan McKnight, Robin Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics Gruber, Jonathan We investigate the impact of limited network insurance plans in the context of the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC), the insurance plan for state employees. Our quasi-experimental analysis examines the introduction of a major financial incentive to choose limited network plans that affected a subset of GIC enrollees. We find that enrollees are very price sensitive in their decision to enroll in limited network plans. Those who switched spent almost 40 percent less on medical care. This reflects reductions in the quantity of services and prices paid per service. The spending reductions came from specialist and hospital care, while spending on primary care rose. (JEL G22, H75, I11, I13, J45) National Institute on Aging (Grant #P30AG012810 to the National Bureau of Economic Research) 2017-06-23T23:11:25Z 2017-06-23T23:11:25Z 2016-05 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1945-7731 1945-774X http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/110246 Gruber, Jonathan, and Robin McKnight. “Controlling Health Care Costs through Limited Network Insurance Plans: Evidence from Massachusetts State Employees†.” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 8, no. 2 (May 2016): 219–250. © 2017 American Economic Association https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9877-3065 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/pol.20140335 American Economic Journal: Economic Policy Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Economic Association |
| spellingShingle | Gruber, Jonathan McKnight, Robin Controlling Health Care Costs through Limited Network Insurance Plans: Evidence from Massachusetts State Employees |
| title | Controlling Health Care Costs through Limited Network Insurance Plans: Evidence from Massachusetts State Employees |
| title_full | Controlling Health Care Costs through Limited Network Insurance Plans: Evidence from Massachusetts State Employees |
| title_fullStr | Controlling Health Care Costs through Limited Network Insurance Plans: Evidence from Massachusetts State Employees |
| title_full_unstemmed | Controlling Health Care Costs through Limited Network Insurance Plans: Evidence from Massachusetts State Employees |
| title_short | Controlling Health Care Costs through Limited Network Insurance Plans: Evidence from Massachusetts State Employees |
| title_sort | controlling health care costs through limited network insurance plans evidence from massachusetts state employees |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/110246 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9877-3065 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gruberjonathan controllinghealthcarecoststhroughlimitednetworkinsuranceplansevidencefrommassachusettsstateemployees AT mcknightrobin controllinghealthcarecoststhroughlimitednetworkinsuranceplansevidencefrommassachusettsstateemployees |