HCFO Findings Brief: Health Risk Appraisals: How Sharp is This Tool in Shaping Employee Behavior?

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HCFO Brief December 2009.pdf

Do health risk appraisals (HRAs) improve quality and decrease costs? Meredith Rosenthal, Ph.D., and Haiden Huskamp, Ph.D., at Harvard University, examined whether enrollees in employer-sponsored health insurance who voluntarily participated in HRAs differed in regard to demographic characteristics and utilization of health services from those who chose not to participate and those not offered an HRA. The researchers found that though HRAs have been shown to increase use of medical services, they are unlikely the sole solution to engaging consumers in their health. Learn more in this HCFO Findings Brief.