CONSUMER PERSPECTIVES ON INFORMATION NEEDS FOR HEALTH PLAN CHOICE

The premise that competition will improve health care assumes that con sumers will choose plans that best fit their needs and resources. Howe ver many consumers are frustrated with currently available plan compar ison information. We describe results from 22 focus groups in which Me dicare beneficiaries, Medicaid enrollees, and Privately insured consum ers assessed the usefulness of indicators based on consumer survey dat a and Health Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS)-type measures of qu ality of care. Considerable education would be required before consume rs could interpret report card data to inform plan choices. Policy imp lications for design and provision of plan information for Medicare be neficiaries and Medicaid enrollees are discussed.