An Evaluation of the Current and Potential Impact of Consumer Survey-Based Report Cards on the Health Care Market Place

How do consumer-based report cards affect institutional behavior in the health care market? This study was designed to complement work currently underway to evaluate the impact of consumer information on consumer choice. Through a series of case studies and structured interviews, the researchers studied a natural experiment in Minneapolis and St. Paul where one group of employees receives a consumer survey-based report card during annual health plan open enrollment while another group of employees, with the same health plan benefits and choices, does not receive report card information. The objective of the study was to provide further information on how consumer information affects behavior in the health care market.