The effect of tax-exempt out-of-pocket premiums on health plan choice

被引:11
作者
Dowd, B [1 ]
Feldman, R
Maciejewski, M
Pauly, MV
机构
[1] Univ Minnesota, Sch Publ Hlth, Div Hlth Serv Res & Policy, Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA
[2] VA Puget Sound Hlth Care Syst, HSR&D 152, Seattle, WA 98108 USA
[3] Univ Penn, Wharton Sch, Hlth Care Syst Dept, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
关键词
D O I
10.17310/ntj.2001.4.03
中图分类号
F8 [财政、金融];
学科分类号
0202 ;
摘要
Market-based health care reform proposals typically rely on 1) consumer choice among competing health plans, 2) premiums paid out-of-pocket for higher priced plans, and 3) a significant out-of-pocket premium-p rice elasticity of health plan choice, Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code exempts employee out-of-pocket premiums from personal income taxes and FICA taxes. The predicted effect is attenuation of the out-of-pocket premium-price elasticity of health plan choice. Using 1994 data from a national sample of large public employers, we find that employees are sensitive to out-of-pocket premiums, but tax-exempt out-of-pocket premiums reduce substantially the price elasticity of health plan choice.
引用
收藏
页码:741 / 756
页数:16
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