Consumers rarely have choice of health plans

Managed competition, in which health plans compete in a consumer-based marketplace on both cost and quality, is still just a dream. Only 17% of private employers that offer insurance to employees provide a choice of plans, according to a report of the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington, DC.

Even when employers offered alternatives, only 27% provided financial incentives for employees to choose the lower-priced plans, the report says. Few provided quality information on the health plans. Only 22% of the largest employers provided comparative data.

The Center for Studying Health System Change is an independent research organization funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The survey of 21,000 employers was conducted by RAND in Santa Monica, CA, and Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, NC.