benefitsuse
Benefitsuse is a term used in policy analysis and program evaluation to refer to how benefits offered by a program or employer are accessed and utilized by intended beneficiaries. The concept focuses on the actual consumption and application of benefits rather than simply the existence of eligibility criteria or benefit design. While not universally standardized, benefitsuse is widely used to assess efficiency, equity, and impact of benefit provisions across sectors such as social welfare, health care, and employment.
Contexts include government social security programs, health insurance subsidies, housing assistance, education grants, unemployment benefits, and
Measurement often relies on administrative records, surveys, or program audits to calculate utilization rates, average benefit
Design choices that affect benefitsuse include simplification of applications, automatic enrollment, portability of benefits across programs
Research on benefitsuse informs program redesign and evaluation and is an ongoing area in public policy, labor