Independent solution

How to solve this Set Probability question

Setup

Setup

Because a participating employee selects exactly two plans, partition participants into the three possible plan pairs.

x=Pr(HL),y=Pr(HR),z=Pr(LR)x=\Pr(H\cap L),\qquad y=\Pr(H\cap R),\qquad z=\Pr(L\cap R)

Model

Model

Each marginal participation rate is the sum of the two pair cells containing that plan.

x+y=0.625x+y=0.625
x+z=0.375x+z=0.375
y+z=0.500y+z=0.500

Compute

Compute

Add the life and retirement equations, then subtract the health equation to isolate twice the requested pair.

2z=(x+z)+(y+z)(x+y)2z=(x+z)+(y+z)-(x+y)
2z=0.375+0.5000.625=0.2502z=0.375+0.500-0.625=0.250
z=0.125z=0.125

Answer

Answer

The requested joint participation rate is 12.5%.

12.5%(A)\boxed{12.5\%\quad\text{(A)}}