Study • Health · Healthcare Consumption
Comparison Friction: Experimental Evidence from Medicare Drug Plans,.
Kling et al (2012) 'Comparison Friction'
Summary by Mark Egan
The authors used a randomized field experiment to test the efficacy of personalized information in letters sent to seniors for Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in the U.S. The control group was given the address of the Medicare Plan Finder website. The treatment group received a letter with personalized cost information; information which was readily available for free and widely advertised.This additional step—providing the information rather than having consumers actively access it—had an impact. Plan switching was 28% in the intervention group, versus 17% in the control group, and the intervention caused an average decline in predicted consumer cost of about $100 a year among letter recipients—roughly 5% of the cost in the comparison group.
Tactics used
TACTICS
Reduce Friction or Barriers
TACTICS
Reduce Cognitive Load
TACTICS
Personalization
Behaviors addressed
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