CAPITOL REGION CHATŠ PROJECT
Health plan coverage preferences when resources are finite


Final Report Now Available
The CHAT project report, When Options Exceed Resources: Making Trade-Offs in Healthcare Benefits, will be mailed to you on request. Email [email protected] and indicate the number of copies (up to 5) you would like (there is no charge). To read or download the report in pdf format click here.

Continuation of CHAT
Although the project is completed, SHD continues to provide programs related to CHAT. Please contact SHD for more information on any of the following:

• CHAT sessions can be conducted as an educational program with healthcare and policy leaders.
  
  
• The CHAT computer program can be customized for use by an employer (or a union) seeking direct employee participation in benefits decisions.
  
  
• A presentation about the CHAT process and project results can be scheduled with large or small groups of employers (including benefits managers), purchasers, healthcare providers, policymakers or consumers.

Project Summary
Between October 02 and July 03, SHD engaged employers and employees in the challenge of considering priorities when healthcare options surpass the available resources. More than 40 organizations participated, involving 72 CHAT sessions and almost 750 participants.

Funded by the California HealthCare Foundation, the CHAT (Choosing Healthplans All Together) Project openly addressed the tension between what medicine can do, what consumers want, and what purchasers are willing to pay for.

The CHAT tool
CHAT is a computer simulation game developed by physician ethicists at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Michigan, whereby participants are faced with making decisions about health plan benefits packages when there are more choices than resources to pay for them.

This stimulating and educational process takes place in a 2 ˝ hour discussion group where 10-12 participants design a healthcare benefits package for themselves, their company and their state.

The CHAT game is conducted using individual laptop computers combined with group discussion that involves negotiation, compromise and consensus-building.



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