State-Mandated Benefit Review Laws

Objective. To determine which states have laws that require the review of mandated health insurance benefits and describe the various approaches states take in reviewing mandated benefits, as stated in the mandated benefit review (MBR) laws.
Data Sources. We queried online databases of the individual state statutes and reviewed the state statutes and state legislative agendas for all 50 states and Washington, DC to identify those states with active MBR laws as of September 2004.
Study Design. We reviewed the identified MBR laws to catalog their various components. The components chosen for this analysis include: general review strategy, designated reviewers, time frame for conducting reviews, criteria used in the review, requirements to use actuaries, sources of funding, and state data collection systems. Two of the authors independently created analysis categories and coded the MBR laws to document details on the major components of the laws.
Principal Findings. We identified 26 state MBR laws active as of September 2004. A majority of the MBR laws specified a prospective review approach and only one law used an exclusively retrospective review approach. A substantial amount of variation was found with regards to the designated reviewers, time frames for conducting reviews, and criteria used in the review. Few states specified the use of actuaries, sources of funding, and state data collection systems.
Conclusions. The number of states that have enacted MBR laws has increased substantially in recent years, however, different states have structured the review of mandated benefits differently, according to the values and perceived needs of the state legislatures. It is important that states increasingly consider a broader scope of review criteria so state decision makers can position themselves to mandate only those benefits that add real value to the state's health care system.     

Active and retired public employees’ health insurance: Potential data sources

Employer-provided health insurance for public sector workers is a significant public policy issue. Underfunding and the growing costs of benefits may hinder the fiscal solvency of state and local governments. Findings from the private sector may not be applicable because many public sector workers are covered by union contracts or salary schedules and often benefit modifications require changes in legislation. Research has been limited by the difficulty in obtaining sufficiently large and representative data on public sector employees. This article highlights data sources researchers might utilize to investigate topics concerning health insurance for active and retired public sector employees.     

Health insurance and retirement behavior: evidence from the health and retirement survey

This paper studies the role of health insurance in the retirement decisions of older workers. As policymakers consider mechanisms for how to increase access to affordable health insurance for the near elderly, considerations of the potential labor force implications of such policies will be important to consider--potentially inducing retirements just at a time when the labor force is shrinking. Using data from the 1992 and 1996 waves of the Health and Retirement Survey, this study demonstrates that access to post-retirement health insurance has a large effect on retirement. Among older male workers, those with retiree health benefit offers are 68% more likely to retire (and those with non-employment based insurance are 44% more likely to retire) than their counterparts who would lose employment-based health insurance upon retirement. In addition, the study demonstrated that in retirement models, when retiree health benefits are controlled for, the effects of pension coverage are reduced, suggesting that these effects may have been overestimated in the prior literature.     

Displaced Workers and Employer-Provided Health Insurance: Evidence of a Wage/Fringe Benefit Tradeoff?

Job changes that result from plant closings and mass layoffs provide an opportunity to see how workers respond to an employment shock that is arguably exogenous to individual productivity. Comparing compensation packages of displaced workers on their old and new jobs is a potentially promising method to infer a tradeoff between wages and non-wage benefits. Although displaced worker data overcomes many of the pitfalls to estimating wage/fringe tradeoffs by controlling for time-invariant unobserved productivity, time-varying unobservables could still bias estimates. In this analysis, I investigate the compensating wage differential for one particularly valuable benefit, employer-provided health insurance. I find that even after controlling for an extensive set of productivity factors, I obtain results indicating a wrong-signed tradeoff. Those who lose health insurance through the job change also lose wages relative to other displaced workers, while those who gain health insurance also gain in wages. Individuals expected to incur higher health care costs (older workers and workers who are likely to buy family coverage) do not experience steeper wage/health insurance tradeoffs as would be expected if employers were able to pass health care costs on to workers according to individual costs. Although this exercise fails to isolate a wage/fringe tradeoff, the strong correlation between changes in wages and changes in fringe benefits has important implications for public policy towards displaced workers. Further research is needed to understand the true magnitude and distribution of the costs of job displacement taking changes in fringe benefits into account.     

Employers' benefits from workers' health insurance

Even though many employers believe that health insurance and health affect employees' productivity and firms' performance, health economists typically overlook and rarely measure firms' returns on health-related investments. Some research, however, suggests that firms may benefit economically by providing health insurance coverage for workers and their families. For example, health coverage may help employers recruit and retain high-quality workers. Health may contribute to productivity by reducing the costs of absenteeism and turnover and by increasing workers' productivity. This article reviews the evidence and proposes an agenda for future research. A better understanding of the benefits to employers of offering health coverage to workers may help clarify employers' behavior and help private employers and public officials make appropriate investments in health.     

Life after mandatory insurance: Hawaii providers tide a new wave

While the nation looks to universal access laws as a solution to hospitals' rising costs of caring for the uninsured, laws covering all workers are standard operating procedure in Hawaii. The state's mandatory insurance law was meant to reduce hospitals' indigent-care losses, but losses have continued to mount at some facilities. Despite the overall benefits of the law, Hawaiian hospitals struggle just like their mainland counterparts to survive.     

When more means less. Utah gets federal approval limiting Medicaid services to some to provide a basic health package to 25,000 low-income uninsured

Utah hospitals are cautiously optimistic about a controversial new Medicaid project that would expand health insurance coverage to 25,000 of the state's low-income workers but would not cover hospitalization. The project marks the first time the federal government has let a state offer a Medicaid benefit plan that fails to cover hospitalization and reduces benefits for some enrollees in order to expand access for others.     

No care for the caregivers: declining health insurance coverage for health care personnel and their children, 1988-1998

OBJECTIVES: This study examined trends in health insurance coverage for health care workers and their children between 1988 and 1998. METHODS: We analyzed data from the annual March supplements of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a Census Bureau survey that collects information about health insurance from a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized US residents. RESULTS: Of the health care personnel younger than 65 years, 1.36 million (90% confidence interval [CI] = 1.28 million, 1.45 million) were uninsured in 1998, up 83.4% from 1988; the proportion uninsured rose from 8.4% (90% CI = 7.8%, 9.1%) to 12.2% (90% CI = 11.5%, 12.9%). Declining coverage rates in the growing private-sector health care workforce---and declining health employment in the public sector, which provided health insurance benefits to more of its workers---accounted for the increases. Households with a health care worker included 1.12 million (90% CI = 1.05 million, 1.20 million) uninsured children, accounting for 10.1% (90% CI = 9.5%, 10.8%) of all uninsured children in the United States. CONCLUSIONS: Health care personnel are losing health insurance coverage more rapidly than are other workers. Increasingly, the health care sector is consigning its own workers and their children to the ranks of the uninsured.     

Assessing the Public Health Impact of State Health Benefit Mandates

Objective. To document the process used in assessing the public health impact of proposed health insurance benefit mandates in California as part of the California Health Benefits Review Program (CHBRP) to serve as a guide for other states interested in incorporating a public health impact analysis into their state mandated benefit review process.
Background. As of September 2004, of the 26 states that require reviews of mandated benefit legislation, 25 required an assessment of the cost impact, 12 required an assessment of the medical efficacy, and only 6 had language requiring an assessment of the public health impact.
Methodology. This paper presents the methodology used to calculate the overall public health impact of each mandate. This includes a discussion of data sources, required data elements, and the methods used to quantify the impact of a mandated health insurance benefit on: overall public health, on gender and racial disparities in health outcomes, on premature death, and on the economic loss associated with disease. In addition we identify the limitations of this type of analysis.
Conclusions. The approach that California has adopted to review proposed health benefit mandates represents a leap forward in its consideration of the impact of such mandates on the health of the population. the approach is unique in its specific requirements to address public health impacts as well as the attempt to quantify these impacts by the CHBRP team. The requirement to make available this information to the state government has the potential, ultimately, to increase the availability of health insurance products in California that will maximize public health.     

日本健康保险制度演变历程及启示

对日本医疗保险制度实现全民覆盖的历程以及现状进行分析,发现日本的健康保险制度演变有以下特点：以法律为依据,逐步实现全民覆盖;建立了健康保险基金的合理分担机制;不同保健制度覆盖人群的服务包逐渐趋同、补偿水平逐渐统一;不同保险方案之间建立了风险分担和资金转移机制;加强对供方的约束力,控制医药费用快速上涨。最后针对日本健康保险制度的演变特点给出我国医疗保险制度改革的政策建议：健全医疗保险的法律法规;调整筹资机制,逐步提高个人筹资责任;推进不同医保制度覆盖人群保障待遇的统筹和统一;建立不同健康保险制度之间的风险分担机制;积极探索支付方式改革,控制医药费用快速上涨。     

德国医疗保障体系改革及启示

德国是世界上最早建立社会医疗保障制度的国家,其医疗保障体系以法定医疗保险为主,私人医疗保险为辅,基本实现了全民覆盖。本文在梳理德国医疗保障体系三次改革的基础上,阐述德国当前医保管理模式、医疗保险体系、医疗服务体系以及对弱势人群进行保障的现状特点,归纳德国医疗保障体系在发挥市场机制、医保福利包设计、提供均等医疗服务、实行家庭医生制度、注重质量和效率的具体经验,进而提出厘清政府和市场的关系、适时调整医保福利包、逐步建立分级诊疗模式、保障公平的医疗服务以及合理控制医药费用等建议。     

Access to medical care for occupational disorders: difficulties and disparities

Despite state laws guaranteeing full insurance coverage for work-related disorders, many injured workers have difficulty obtaining access to appropriate medical care. Barriers to access arise because: patients are unable to prove that their conditions are caused occupationally; they are discouraged by employers from reporting occupational injuries; workers' compensation insurance carriers aggressively contest claims; and other reasons. Evidence suggests that minority subpopulations of workers are most affected. Overcoming these barriers will require a multifaceted approach involving regulatory oversight, participation of workers in the design of health plans and the selection of providers, and specific measures to detect and prohibit discriminatory care.     

Health care needs of Hispanic Americans and the responsiveness of the health care system

The Hispanic population in the United States is growing rapidly but this population has many health care needs that are not being met. The findings from recent research on the current health status of Hispanic people who live in the United States are presented. An assessment of how accessible and available medical care services are to Hispanic people is made. Serious gaps exist in the delivery of medical care services to this group. Human service providers, particularly social workers, can help make the current health care system more responsive to the needs of this group by helping Hispanic individuals who have no health insurance coverage to find employment that includes health insurance benefits or some other form of insurance, by establishing community-based health care centers in Hispanic communities, by developing counseling programs tailored to the alcohol and drug abuse problems of the Hispanic population, and by advocating for government agencies to improve existing sources of data on the health of this group.     

Estimating workers' marginal valuation of employer health benefits: would insured workers prefer more health insurance or higher wages?

In recent years the cost of health insurance has been increasing much faster than wages. In the face of these rising costs, many employers will have to make difficult decisions about whether to cut back health benefits or to compensate workers with lower wages or lower wage growth. In this paper, we ask the question, "Which do workers value more -- one additional dollar's worth of health benefits or one more dollar in their pockets?" Using a new approach to obtaining estimates of insured workers' marginal valuation of health benefits this paper estimates how much, on average, employees value the marginal dollar paid by employers for their workers' health insurance. We find that insured workers value the marginal health premium dollar at significantly less than the marginal wage dollar. However, workers value insurance generosity very highly. The marginal dollar spent on health insurance that adds an additional dollar's worth of observable dimensions of plan generosity, such as lower deductibles or coverage of additional services, is valued at significantly more than one dollar.     

Benefit flexibility,cost shifting and mandated mental health coverage

This paper presents a policy analysis of options for making a state’s mandated mental health benefit more flexible while maintaining insurance premiums at a constant level. The analysis illustrates the difficult choices facing legislatures that attempt to balance improved coverage for mental health care with concerns about rising health care costs. A sophisticated simulation model is used to assess the costs of four alternative insurance benefit design options.     

Are mental health insurance mandates effective? Evidence from suicides

Many states in the US have passed laws mandating insurance companies to provide or offer some form of mental health benefits. These laws presumably lower the price of obtaining mental health services for many adults, and as a result, might improve health outcomes. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of mental health insurance mandates by examining the influence of mandates on adult suicides, which are strongly correlated with mental illness. Data on completed suicides in each state for the period 1981-2000 are analyzed. Ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares results show that mental health mandates are not effective in reducing suicide rates.     

THE IMPACT OF MENTAL HEALTH INSURANCE LAWS ON STATE SUICIDE RATES

In the 1990s and early 2000s, a number of states passed laws requiring mental health benefits to be included in health insurance coverage. The variation in the characteristics and enactment date of the laws provides an opportunity to measure the impact of increasing access to mental health care on mental health outcomes, as evidenced by state suicide rates. In contrast with previous research, results show that when states enact laws requiring insurance coverage to include mental health benefits at parity with physical health benefits, the suicide rate decreases significantly by 5%. The findings are robust to a number of specifications and falsification tests. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

美国医疗保障制度改革的先行者——马萨诸塞州医改综述

马萨诸塞州2006年医改被视为2010年奥巴马美国医改的原型和模板,研究马州医改进展和效果,有助于推断美国医改可能取得的成绩及问题.2006年马州医改主要通过以下方式扩大医疗保险覆盖范围,提高医疗服务可及性.一是增加政府投入,扩大面向低收入人群的马州医疗援助计划覆盖范围,新建资助中低收入人群参保的公民健康保障计划,从而提高中低收入人群的参保能力;二是新建医疗保险交易局管理新建计划,干预私营医疗保险市场,新建致力于医疗保险标准化、面向高收入人群的公民健康选择计划;三是强制个人参保,要求雇主为雇员提供保险.综合现有文献,马州医改已取得许多成就,但也存在一定问题.一方面,无保障人群数量不断缩小,居民医疗服务可及性提高,可负担性也有所改进;另一方面,医疗支出快速上升影响了改革的可持续性,制度设计的一些缺陷影响了部分人群的医疗服务可及性,同时安全网计划资金的消减也可能影响医改效果.我国可借鉴马州经验建立商业健康保险管制机构,促进我国商业健康保险市场发展;同时需准备面对全民医保覆盖后的医疗费用快速增长问题,还需警惕全面覆盖后的“参保却不享有”问题.     

Reforming China's urban health insurance system

China's urban health insurance system is mainly consisted of labor insurance schemes (LIS) and government employee insurance scheme (GIS). LIS is a work unit-based self-insurance system that covers medical costs for the workers and often their dependents as well. GIS covers employees of the State institutions, is financed by general revenues. Since 1980s, China has implemented series of health insurance system reforms, culminating in the government's major policy decision in December of 1998 to establish a social insurance program for urban workers. Compared with the old insurance systems under LIS and GIS, the new system expands coverage to private sector employees and provides a more stable financing with its risk pool at the city level. Despite of these advantages, implementation of China's health insurance reform program is faced with several major challenges, including risk transfer from work units to municipal governments, diverse need and demand for health insurance benefits, incongruent roles of the central and regional governments. These challenges may reflect practical difficulties in policy implementation as well as some deficiencies in the original program design.     

Mold insurance: crafting coverage for a spreading problem

Mold contamination is a growing concern for homeowners in terms of both physical health and insurance. Health experts, although they concede that exposure to mold can cause respiratory illnesses, are calling for further research into other mold-related health effects and for development of standards for mold sampling and data analysis. The insurance industry is grappling with how---and whether---to provide coverage for household damage caused by mold, while some state and federal legislators are working to pass laws regarding mold testing and insurance.