Consumer Satisfaction with Prepaid Group Practice: A Comparative Study

RICHARD TESSLER DAVID MECHANIC University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of Wisconsin, Madison This study compares reactions of consumers to participation in prepaid group practice and alternative health insurance plans in a large metropolitan area. The majority of respondents in the survey were very satisfied with the medical care they and their families received during the preceding year. However, prepaid practice respondents expressed relatively less satisfaction than persons participating in alternative insurance plans. Degree ofsatisfaction wasfound to be related to characteristics of consumers, such as being unmarried, low skepticism toward medical care, psychological well-being, and perceived positive health status. When all correlates of satisfaction were controlled, being in the prepaid group continued to have an independent effect on degree of dissatisfaction. When questioned about their perceptions of the accessibility of medical care, prepaid practice respondents reported greater difficulty in obtaining appointments and longer travel time to site of care than persons participating in alternative insurance plans, but shorter waiting time upon arrival at the doctor's office. Perceived barriers to access were positively associated with consumer dissatisfaction.