Gold, Silver, and Bronze—The Important Role of Product Standardization in Health Insurance Reform

This NYHealth-funded report by the Health Policy Research Center at the Rockefeller Institute of Government indicates that standardizing health insurance options is key to helping consumers compare plans and make informed choices.

The report analyzes the experiences of Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey in standardizing health insurance for small groups, and in Massachusetts’ case, individuals. While states’ experiences suggest that product standardization can help consumers, it may be difficult to sustain in the long run—a challenge that New York and other states may need to address in implementing Federal health reform.