Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Adverse Selection. The firm wants to attract healthy individuals at all ages. Gym membership may be observable, but it is difficult to observe frequency of gym visits. By advertising at 24-hour Fitness, Kaiser Permanente’s ads have the strongest effect on those who go to the gym most frequently. If fitness enthusiasts decide to enroll at…
Why do people change health plans? Of course, the most obvious reasons are moving, changing jobs, or qualifying for Medicare. However, some people change health plans even when they remain in the same job. Why is this? A working paper by Cutler, Lincoln and Zeckhauser (2009) give the following explanations: Adverse selection, the movement of…
Can Markets cure healthcare? Krugman: “There are a number of successful health-care systems, at least as measured by pretty good care much cheaper than here, and they are quite different from each other. There are, however, no examples of successful health care based on the principles of the free market.” Cowen: “There are in fact plenty…
For individuals who have recently lost their job, Carolyn’s Blog advises them how to get health insurance coverage. “Unless you have a pre-existing condition you should only stick with COBRA until you find a private health insurance plan. Believe it or not, if you go with a High Deductible Health Care Plan (HDHP) for a…
One of the biggest news stories this year is the collapse of the subprime mortgage lending market. Why did this happen? How much do we really know about subprime lending? A working paper by William Adams, Liran Einav and Jonathan Levin examines the subprime market for automobile loans. The authors find that liquidity constraints are…