RISK SELECTION IN THE HEALTH-CARE MARKET - A WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

In a voluntary health insurance market, risk selection poses serious a nd increasing problems. Responding to this concern, the Robert Wood Jo hnson Foundation sponsored an invitational meeting for public and priv ate decision makers to understand the incentives for risk selection in the health insurance market and to discuss options for reducing risk selection practices. The meeting, held October 6, 1994, provided a fra mework for exploring this timely issue and served as a vehicle for und erstanding how health care reforms, such as insurance market regulatio n and risk adjustment mechanisms, both can reduce and exacerbate incen tives for risk selection. This article sets the context for the three commissioned papers that follow; it summarizes the ideas presented and issues identified for future consideration. Failure to address risk s election will continue to have serious consequences both for access to care for vulnerable populations and for the financial viability of he alth plans.