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Quality disclosure and the timing of insurers’ adjustments: Evidence from medicare advantage

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  • McCarthy, Ian M.

Abstract

Mandatory quality disclosure often includes a period over which the quality of new entrants is unreported. This provides the opportunity for forward-looking firms to adjust product characteristics in advance of disclosure. Using comprehensive data on Medicare Advantage (MA) from 2007 to 2015, I exploit the design of the MA Star Rating program to examine the presence of forward-looking behavior among insurers. I find that high-quality insurers reduce prices leading up to quality disclosure, while low-quality insurers increase prices in advance of quality disclosure. These dynamics are consistent with firms anticipating a future change in consumer inertia and updating current-period prices accordingly.

Suggested Citation

  • McCarthy, Ian M., 2018. "Quality disclosure and the timing of insurers’ adjustments: Evidence from medicare advantage," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 13-26.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:61:y:2018:i:c:p:13-26
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2018.06.007
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    Cited by:

    1. Haizhen Lin & Ian M. McCarthy, 2023. "Multimarket Contact in Health Insurance: Evidence from Medicare Advantage," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(1), pages 212-255, March.
    2. Avi Dor & William Encinosa & Kathleen Carey, 2020. "Hospital performance standards and medical pricing: The impact of information disclosure in cardiac care," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 492-515, July.
    3. Jinyang Chen & Chaoqun Wang, 2023. "“The reputation premium”: does hospital ranking improvement lead to a higher healthcare spending?," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 24(5), pages 817-830, July.

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