A large number of customers prefer organizations that have superior environmental records and greener products and are ready to pay a premium for it (Lakshmi and Visalakshmi 2012).
For instance, variability in income is sometimes positively associated with performance, employees tend to prefer organizations that are characterized by many tiers of management, and employee participation in all key decisions can undermine efficiency.
Additional data elements include demographic variables (age, sex, and geographic region), product type (eg, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization), payer type (eg, commercial, self-pay), provider specialty, and eligibility dates related to plan enrollment and participation.
We evaluated demographic characteristics, including age, gender, and the 4 U.S. geographic regions of residence (i.e., Northeast, Midwest, South, and West), and type of health insurance plan (i.e., comprehensive, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, and other).
Patient characteristics that were measured at the index date included age, gender, geographic region, insurance payer type (e.g., commercial, self, government sponsored), and health plan type (e.g., health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization).
Respondents were classified as being "with insurance" if they reported any of the following as their type of insurance: health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, traditional indemnity insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, or other.
Explanatory variables in the base model included: a) age (18 34, 35 44, 45 54, 55 64, or 65+ years); b) sex; c) plan type (health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, point of sale, indemnity, or unknown); d) geographic region; e) payer type (commercial, Medicaid, Medicare, self-insured, or other); f) physician specialty; and g) Charlson comorbidity index score.
Health insurance related variables included type of plan (health maintenance organization, indemnity, preferred provider organization, point of service, others), type of payer (commercial, public, self-insured), and pharmacy benefit plans.
Insurance coverage is provided under a variety of fee-for-service and capitated health plans, including exclusive provider organizations, preferred provider organizations, point of service plans, indemnity plans, and health maintenance organizations.
Expanded drug benefits would be available to people who joined health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations or other private plans.
Two other features are needed to give an exchange the power to pressure insurers — whether health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, or fee-for-service plans — to hold down prices and improve care.
