Health insurance subsidies and deductible choice: Evidence from regional variation in subsidy schemes |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Lucerne, Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy and Center for Health, Policy and Economics, Frohburgstrasse 3, PO Box 4466, CH-6002 Lucerne, Switzerland;2. University of Bern, Department of Economics and CSS Institute for Empirical Health Economics, Tribschenstrasse 21, CH-6002 Lucerne, Switzerland;1. Department of Economics, Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, 1014 Greene St., Columbia, SC, 29208, USA;2. Imperial College Business School, Tanaka Building, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK;3. CMPO and Department of Economics, University of Bristol, 2 Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TX, UK;1. Johns Hopkins University, 624 N. Broadway Room 406, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States;2. Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States;3. RAND, 4570 Fifth Avenue Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States;4. Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, United States;5. RAND, 20 Park Plaza 9th Floor Suite 920, Boston, MA 02116, United States;6. University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware Street, Minneapolis MN 55455, United States;7. University of Southern California, 635 Downey Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States;8. NBER, United States;1. Boston University, Department of Economics, United States;2. Harvard Medical School, Department of Health Care Policy, United States;1. RAND Corporation, United States;2. School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, United States |
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| Abstract: | The extent to which premium subsidies can influence health insurance choices is an open question. In this paper, we explore the regional variation in subsidy schemes in Switzerland, designed as either in-kind or cash transfers, to study their impact on the choice of health insurance deductibles. Using health survey data and a difference-in-differences methodology, we find that in-kind transfers increase the likelihood of choosing a low deductible plan by approximately 4 percentage points (or 7%). Our results indicate that the response to in-kind transfers is strongest among women, middle-aged and unmarried individuals, which we explain by differences in risk-taking behavior, health status, financial constraints, health insurance and financial literacy. We discuss our results in the light of potential extra-marginal effects on the demand for health care services, which are however not supported by our data. |
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| Keywords: | Health plan choice Deductibles Premium subsidies In-kind transfers Number of doctor consultations Difference-in-differences |
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