The CAHPS® consortium video:  Understanding Your Health Plan Choices

The CAHPS® consortium created a video, Understanding Your Health Plan Choices, that is included in the CAHPS® 2.0 Survey and Reporting Kit. The goal of the video is to motivate the viewer to read and use the CAHPS® information when choosing a health plan. The video also includes a 30-second introduction by John M. Eisenberg, MD, Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.

The video should be viewed before receiving the results from a CAHPS® survey. It can be viewed individually (at office or home) or in a group setting (during benefits/open enrollment meeting). The video, which is written at the sixth-grade reading level, is appropriate for individuals who are choosing insurance for the first time or during open enrollment. Test sites of the video had it available in a variety of situations, such as to be "checked-out" for private viewing, shown in continuous-loop format in a lunchroom, or shown at beginning of an open enrollment meeting. The video lasts nearly 14 minutes and is in the 1/2-inch VHS format. The video program cannot be customized for individual users.

The audience in the video is privately insured individuals and their families, and the video program depicts a benefits meeting. A culturally diverse group of six employees has questions and concerns about choosing a health plan. The benefits coordinator introduces the CAHPS® Kit and suggests how the information in the report will help answer their questions. Her explanations are supported with textual graphics.

A copy of the video is included in the CAHPS® 2.0 Survey and Reporting Kit binder. For a copy of the Kit, call the AHRQ Clearinghouse at 800-358-9295 and ask for Publication No. 99-0039. Call the Sun Help Line at (800) 997-9261 for additional copies of the video.

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