"[The authors] study how couples in the Medicare Part D program choose an insurance plan. Over 70 percent of enrollees choose the same plan as their spouse. Even among those with differing healthcare needs, well over half do so. Discrete-choice models suggest beneficiaries value being on the same plan as their spouse at over a thousand dollars per year.... Joint plan choice contributes modestly to overall overspending, but increases costs substantially for the couples with different cost-minimizing plans."  MORE >>