IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/hlthec/v14y2005i1p25-38.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • 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.

Suggested Citation

  • 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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.907
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/hec.907?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James J. Heckman & Thomas E. MaCurdy, 1985. "A Simultaneous Equations Linear Probability Model," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 18(1), pages 28-37, February.
    2. Besley, Timothy & Case, Anne, 1993. "Modeling Technology Adoption in Developing Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(2), pages 396-402, May.
    3. John Mullahy, 1999. "It'll only hurt a second? Microeconomic determinants of who gets flu shots," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 8(1), pages 9-24, February.
    4. Kenkel, Don, 1990. "Consumer Health Information and the Demand for Medical Care," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(4), pages 587-595, November.
    5. Chee-Ruey Hsieh & Shin-Jong Lin, 1997. "Health Information and the Demand for Preventive Care among the Elderly in Taiwan," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(2), pages 303-333.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    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. Martin Eling & Irina Gemmo & Danjela Guxha & Hato Schmeiser, 2024. "Big data, risk classification, and privacy in insurance markets," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 49(1), pages 75-126, March.
    7. repec:zbw:rwirep:0491 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Bai, Jin & Li, Hua, 2024. "Effects of urban-rural medical insurance integration on health: Evidence from rural China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. Guthmuller, Sophie & Carrieri, Vincenzo & Wübker, Ansgar, 2023. "Effects of organized screening programs on breast cancer screening, incidence, and mortality in Europe," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    16. 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.
    17. 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.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.
    21. 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.
    22. 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.
    23. 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.
    24. 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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stephen T. Parente & David Salkever & Joan DaVanzo, 2003. "The Role of Consumer Knowledge of Insurance Benefits in the Demand for Preventative Health," NBER Working Papers 9912, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Eibich, Peter & Goldzahl, Léontine, 2021. "Does retirement affect secondary preventive care use? Evidence from breast cancer screening," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    3. Fang, Hai & Rizzo, John A., 2009. "Competition and physician-enabled demand: The role of managed care," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 463-474, October.
    4. Slade, Alexander N., 2012. "Health investment decisions in response to diabetes information in older Americans," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 502-520.
    5. Eibich, Peter & Goldzahl, Léontine, 2020. "Health information provision, health knowledge and health behaviours: Evidence from breast cancer screening," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    6. Tadashi Yamada & Tetsuji Yamada, 2003. "The Demand for Health Checkups under Uncertainty," NBER Chapters, in: Labor Markets and Firm Benefit Policies in Japan and the United States, pages 267-314, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. 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.
    8. Joan Costa-Font & Elias Mossialos & Caroline Rudisill, 2009. "When is the Internet a valued communication device for health information in Europe?," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(5), pages 429-445.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. Yen-ju Lin & Tsai-ching Liu & Chin-shyan Chen, 2012. "Healthcare Information and the Utilization of Pap-smear Testing amongst Taiwanese Women," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(1), pages 67-79.
    12. Maurer, Jürgen, 2009. "Who has a clue to preventing the flu? Unravelling supply and demand effects on the take-up of influenza vaccinations," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 704-717, May.
    13. Rochelle Belkar & Denzil G. Fiebig & Marion Haas & Rosalie Viney, 2006. "Why worry about awareness in choice problems? Econometric analysis of screening for cervical cancer," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(1), pages 33-47, January.
    14. 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.
    15. Wagner, Todd H. & Hu, Teh-wei & Hibbard, Judith H., 2001. "The demand for consumer health information," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 1059-1075, November.
    16. Fang Hai & Rizzo John, 2011. "Does Patient Use of Medical Information Affect Physician Practice Incentives to Provide Care?," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 1-22, March.
    17. Hiroaki Suenaga & Maria Rosalía Vicente, 2022. "Online and offline health information seeking and the demand for physician services," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(3), pages 337-356, April.
    18. INUI Tomohiko & ITO Yukiko & KAWAKAMI Atsushi & MA Xin Xin & NAGASHIMA Masaru & ZHAO Meng, 2017. "Empirical Study on the Utilization and Effects of Health Checkups in Japan," Discussion papers 17082, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    19. Dean R. Lillard & Zeynep Önder, 2019. "Health information and life-course smoking behavior: evidence from Turkey," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(1), pages 149-162, February.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:14:y:2005:i:1:p:25-38. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.