Effect of participatory insurance on hosital utilization.

Abstract The effects on hospital utilization that are ascribed to participatory health insurance are discussed, and factors that mediate or confound these effects are described. Five indexes of utilization are examined with respect to their usefulness in yielding inferences about utilization differentials based on these factors, and the utilization experience of a full-service insured group and a copayment insured group, matched for age and sex, is compared.