Determinants of Preventive Health Behaviors and Prospects for Incentivization Claire Williams December 1, 2009

Motivation  Increasing prevalence of preventable, high cost diseases  Four chronic conditions ~75% of costs  New research linking behavior to costs  Dee Edington, University of Michigan  New employer insurance initiatives  15% of employees  85% of costs  85% of employees  15% of costs

Data 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Household Component (MEPS-HC) Large, nationally representative sample Collects information on:  Medical care expenditure  Medical care use  Health status and conditions  Health insurance coverage  Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics

Regression Results

Case Studies  Safeway Inc. “Healthy Measures”  Outcome based  King County “Healthy Incentives”  Participation based  Middlebury College  Work in Progress

Conclusion  Results suggest that people respond to financial incentives for simple preventive care  Furthermore incentives seem to increase awareness  Key factors to encourage personal responsibility  Awareness  Ability/Access  Incentivization  Policy Implications