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The role of consumer knowledge of insurance benefits in the demand for preventive health care among the elderly

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  • Stephen T. Parente
  • David S. Salkever
  • Joan DaVanzo

Abstract

In 1992, the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced new insurance coverage for two preventive services – influenza vaccinations and mammograms. Economists typically assume transactions occur with perfect information and foresight. As a test of the value of information, we estimate the effect of consumer knowledge of these benefits on their demand. Treating knowledge as endogenous in a two‐part model of demand, we find that consumer knowledge has a substantial positive effect on the use of preventive services. Our findings suggest that strategies to educate the insured Medicare population about coverage of preventive services may have substantial social value. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • Stephen T. Parente & David S. Salkever & Joan DaVanzo, 2005. "The role of consumer knowledge of insurance benefits in the demand for preventive health care among the elderly," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 25-38, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:14:y:2005:i:1:p:25-38
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.907
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    1. Chun-Chih Chen & Yen-Ju Lin & Ying-Tzu Lin, 2013. "Awareness and utilization of preventive care services among the elderly under National Health Insurance," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 247-260, December.
    2. Majo, M.C., 2010. "A microeconometric analysis of health care utilization in Europe," Other publications TiSEM 1cf5fd2f-8146-4ef8-8eb5-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    3. Dwyer, Debra Sabatini & Liu, Hong, 2013. "The impact of consumer health information on the demand for health services," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 1-11.
    4. Christian Schmid, 2015. "Consumer Health Information and the Demand for Physician Visits," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(12), pages 1619-1631, December.
    5. Wübker, Ansgar, 2011. "Who gets a Mammogram amongst European women aged 50-69 years and why are there such large differences across European countries?," VfS Annual Conference 2011 (Frankfurt, Main): The Order of the World Economy - Lessons from the Crisis 48715, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. repec:zbw:rwirep:0491 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Yuriy Pylypchuk & Julie Hudson, 2009. "Immigrants and the use of preventive care in the United States," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(7), pages 783-806, July.
    8. Wendy Xu & Bryan Dowd & Jean Abraham, 2016. "Lessons from state mandates of preventive cancer screenings," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 17(2), pages 203-215, March.
    9. Anuj Kumar & Rahul Telang, 2011. "Product Customization and Customer Service Costs: An Empirical Analysis," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 347-360, July.
    10. Elyès Jouini & Clotilde Napp, 2018. "The Impact of Health-Related Emotions on Belief Formation and Behavior," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 84(3), pages 405-427, May.
    11. Carrieri, V. & Wuebker, A., 2014. "Does the letter matter (and for everyone)? Quasi-experimental evidence on the effects of home invitation on mammography uptake," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 14/11, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    12. Robert Nuscheler & Kerstin Roeder, 2016. "To Vaccinate or to Procrastinate? That is the Prevention Question," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(12), pages 1560-1581, December.
    13. Vincenzo Carrieri & Ansgar Wuebker, 2014. "Does the Letter Matter (and for Everyone)? - Quasi-experimental Evidence on the Eff ects of Home Invitation on Mammography Uptake," Ruhr Economic Papers 0491, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    14. Vincenzo Carrieri & Ansgar Wuebker, 2016. "Quasi-Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Health Information on Preventive Behaviour in Europe," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 78(6), pages 765-791, December.
    15. Amnon Maltz & Adi Sarid, 2020. "Attractive Flu Shot: A Behavioral Approach to Increasing Influenza Vaccination Uptake Rates," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 40(6), pages 774-784, August.
    16. Tian, Wei-Hua & Chen, Chin-Shyan & Liu, Tsai-Ching, 2010. "The demand for preventive care services and its relationship with inpatient services," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 164-174, February.
    17. Jonathan Klick & Thomas Stratmann, 2007. "Diabetes Treatments and Moral Hazard," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(3), pages 519-538.
    18. Julia Witt, 2008. "The effect of information in the utilization of preventive health‐care strategies: An application to breast cancer," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(6), pages 721-731, June.
    19. Hendrik Schmitz & Ansgar Wübker, 2011. "What determines influenza vaccination take‐up of elderly Europeans?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(11), pages 1281-1297, November.
    20. Jürgen Maurer & Katherine M. Harris, 2016. "Learning to Trust Flu Shots: Quasi‐Experimental Evidence from the 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(9), pages 1148-1162, September.
    21. Maurer, J. & Harris, K.M., 2015. "Learning to trust flu shots: quasi-experimental evidence on the role of learning in influenza vaccination decisions from the 2009 influenza A/H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 15/19, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.

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