Public Reporting Formats That Motivate Older Consumers to Compare Medicare Health Plan Options...

Public Reporting Formats That Motivate Older Consumers to Compare Medicare Health Plan Options

Presented at AcademyHealth 2004

Presented by Nancy Mitchell

San Diego, CAJune 6-8, 2004

1615 M Street, NW · Suite 740 · Washington, DC 20036Phone: 202-728-2082 · Fax: 202-728-2095 · [email protected] · www.rti.org

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Authors and funding

Authors: Nancy Mitchell, BA Elizabeth Frentzel, MPH Jennifer D. Uhrig, Ph.D. Peyton Williams, BA Philip Salib, BA Lauren Harris-Kojetin, Ph.D.

Supported by grant number R18 HS11008 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

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Rationale for the study

Approximately 200,000 persons age into Medicare every year Complex health care market Health and financial consequences of an uniformed

choice Benefits of using comparative quality information

Employers are in a position to counsel Medicare-eligible employees and retirees No standard method across employers to accomplish

this Current materials do not integrate cost, benefits,

quality and rules Current materials are very detailed

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Research Objectives

To develop, test and evaluate integrated print- and web-based materials to assist pre-Medicare employees and retirees in choosing a Medicare health plan Conducted formative research Developed, cognitively tested and evaluated

materials

This presentation will focus on the development and cognitive testing of the materials

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Theoretical Application

Prochaska and DiClemente’s Stages of Change Model People are in 1 of 6 different stages of change Target audience in a pre-contemplation or

contemplation stage Developed three products to help move target

audience to action stage

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Theoretical Application con’t

Bettman’s Cognitive Information Processing Model Limited ability to process information Kept information concise Selected content based on what consumers report

as most helpful for choosing a health plan Sensitive to reading level and format style

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Methods

Materials reviewed by consumer reporting experts

5 rounds of cognitive testing interviews conducted with 48 employees and retirees Ages 58 – 64 In Oregon, North Carolina, and Washington, DC

Materials revised after each round of review and testing

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Product 1: Bookmark

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Product 2: Booklet

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Product 3: Booklet and Interactive Website

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Principal Findings

Mechanics of the Presentation

Liked the idea of receiving bookmark prior to the other products

Preferred photographs of people within their age range

Had difficulty understanding generic descriptions of health plan options

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Principal Findings (con’t)


Had difficulty understanding differences in cost

Liked the look and layout of products

Used the worksheet to track factors influencing their decisions

Trusted the information

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Principal Findings (con’t)

Plan Choice

Reported that products were easy to use

Understood the quality data

Wanted information about whether their doctor participated in plans

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Implications for Policy and Practice


Remove descriptions of generic plan types

Present only key elements of cost data

Keep information concise and eliminate non-essential details

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Implications for Policy and Practice

Plan Choice

Enable employees and retirees to make a more informed plan choice Materials reduce complexity of factors to consider

and make the decision more manageable Facilitate use of comparative information

Public Reporting Formats That Motivate Older Consumers to Compare Medicare Health Plan Options...

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