Consumers and taxpayers could save about $9 billion if health insurance exchange websites include consumer education, smart defaults and cost calculators, according to a study from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Researchers conducted six experiments to determine which factors encouraged consumers to choose the most cost-effective policy.
A control group showed that without intervention, consumers perform at near-chance levels when asked to select the most cost-effective plan, and monetary incentives proved ineffective as well. Additional experiments showed providing selection education, cost calculators and a limited number of reasonable insurance options could help consumers select the most cost-effective option.
Because the Congressional Budget Office projects 20 million people will use the exchanges, researchers estimate websites featuring the studied decision aids could reduce overspending on insurance by $9.12 billion.
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