Benefit administration executive Kevin Counihan recently told analysts and policymakers in the nation's capital Americans generally want limited complexity when comparing possible health plans, according to research by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector Authority.
The agency conducted a survey of 1,800 consumers and found they initially expressed a preference for varied options, but changed their minds when confronted with increasingly complex coverage choices. This was discussed as part of a gathering to plan for the creation of state health insurance exchanges in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
"The notion of having 50 or 100 different plan designs was something that consumers found very confusing and actually made them suspicious. What they really liked instead was the simplicity of gold, silver, and bronze and low, medium, and high coverage variations within each medal tier," Counihan said.
The availability of insurance is becoming problematic as rising costs force businesses to choose between restricting the availability of employee benefits or requiring workers to pay for more of their own coverage.
According to Counihan, the survey found consumers did want to compare networks, price, services, reputation and rankings. They also requested information be made available more clearly.
