PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Insurance deductions”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

A cash-equivalent option under "major-risk" national health insurance.

A central purpose of proposed "major-risk" ("catastrophic") national health insurance would be to provide an incentive to economize by requiring most households to pay, out of pocket, at least a fraction of the cost of all medical care they use. To help ensure the success of this cost-conscious strategy, the author asserts, a cash-equivalent option for workplace supplementary private health insurance should be legally required.

Deductibles and Coinsurance↗
PubMed2006

Health insurance 101.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Deductibles and Coinsurance↗
PubMed2006

Estimation of a hedonic pricing model for Medigap insurance.

OBJECTIVE: This paper uses a unique database to examine premiums paid by beneficiaries for Medigap supplemental coverage. Average premiums charged by insurers are reported, as well as premiums by enrollee age and gender, and additional policy characteristics. Marginal prices for Medigap benefits are estimated using hedonic price regressions. In addition, the paper considers how additional policy characteristics and geographic differences in the use and cost of medical care affect premiums. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: A comprehensive database on premiums paid by beneficiaries for newly issued Medigap policies in the year 2000 along with state-level characteristics. STUDY DESIGN: Hedonic pricing equations are used to estimate implicit prices for Medigap benefits. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services contracted for the creation of a detailed database on Medigap premiums. Data were collected in three stages. First, letters were sent directly to insurers requesting premium data. Second, letters were directly to state insurance commissioner's offices requesting premium data. Last, each state insurance commissioner's office was visited to collect missing data. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: With the exceptions of the part B deductible and drug benefit, Medigap supplemental insurance is priced consistent with the actuarial value of benefits offered under the standardized plans. Premiums vary substantially based on rating method, whether the policy is guaranteed issue, Medigap Select, or explicitly for smokers. Premiums increase with enrollee age, but do not vary between men and women. The relationship between premiums and enrollee age varies across rating methods. Attained-age policies show the strongest relationship between age and premiums, while community-rated premiums, by definition, do not vary with age. Medigap supplemental insurance premiums are higher in states with poorer health, greater utilization, and greater managed care penetration. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the high cost, Medigap plans are generally priced in accordance with the actuarial value of benefits. The primary exception is the drug benefit, which appears to be subject to substantial adverse selection. Benefits such as the part B deductible and at-home recovery benefit offer little value to consumers. Several states require insurers to community rate premiums. Such regulation has important implications for premiums, and research needs to consider the impact of such regulation on the Medigap market.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Cost estimate of health care coverage for the medically indigent in Hawaii.

The objective of the study was to estimate the cost of health insurance coverage of the medically indigent in Hawaii. The number of uninsured was estimated deductively from the coverages of those insurance companies doing business in the state, with an additional factor for persons with more than one policy coverage. Age and sex breakdowns of the uninsured were entered into actuarial tables and fee-for-service and HMO plan costs were obtained for the most prevalent health plan in the state. Annual coverage is estimated at US$46.090866 million and US$58.040700 million for fee-for-service and HMO plans, respectively. Seven potential sources of financing and five recommendations for further research are given.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed2004

U.S. health care policy and the rising uninsured: an alternative solution.

The lack of adequate health insurance affects one's ability to access care, which directly affects one's health. In the 21st century, there are 44 million people in the United States without health care insurance. The majority of people without health care insurance are working people under age 65, because most people over age 65 are retired and have health insurance through the federal Medicare program. Maintaining a healthy population makes good business sense because healthy people are more able to work, buy goods, and pay taxes that contribute to a healthy economy and strong government. We must understand, through provider "cost shifting," the American public is already "footing the bill" for the uninsured. However, the actual amount is hidden and passed on to consumers in payments to insurance companies through raised premiums, deductibles, co-payments, exclusions from coverage, and direct out-of-pocket payments to providers (e.g., physicians, hospitals). Ironically, the very working poor who are uninsured and underinsured help fund the health insurance of select federally protected groups through taxation. A huge gap exists in the current United States system of health care wherein there is no cogent benefit, only a vicious cycle as the insured continue to pay more for their care to help compensate provider losses due to the uninsured. This in turn causes a growing rank of uninsured individuals that lack access to adequate health care. The purpose of this article is to assert an alternative to the current U.S. health care insurance system. It takes advantage of structures already in place to promote a "win-win" American health system premised on a workable tiered universal health care system in which there is a benefit to the major populace. As an emanation of a diverse society, the proposed system does not advocate a one-payer universal system that is not amenable to the U.S. health care, social, or political environment.

Cost Allocation↗
PubMed1993

Insurance status and access to health services among poor persons.

OBJECTIVE: We examine the relationship between health insurance status and access to care among low-income persons 65 years of age and under, taking into account their social demographic characteristics and health care needs. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING: Study groups consist of the subsamples of persons with incomes between 100 and 150 percent of the federal poverty level and those below the federal poverty level interviewed in the 1983, 1984, and 1986 Health Interview Surveys (HIS) of the National Center for Health Statistics. Sample sizes range from about 6,000 to 11,000 depending on the proportion of each study group administered the insurance supplement. STUDY DESIGN: Annual visits and whether hospitalized during a year are used as measures of access to medical care. The analysis consists of identifying predictors of use of services (i.e., health status and social characteristics) and, taking them into account, examining the relationship of insurance status to access to care. This was first undertaken on the 1983 survey; the models obtained then are replicated on the other two years of data. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: The HIS utilizes in-person interviews to gather health and medical history information from a stratified random sample of the U.S. population. Data were obtained through public use tapes distributed by the National Center for Health Statistics. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Results are consistent for all three years among persons in poverty. Being covered by Medicaid, in contrast to having private insurance or being without health insurance, is related to use of both ambulatory care and hospital care. The access differences for persons in poverty, regardless of their vulnerability or "risk" of requiring medical care, are marked and generally statistically significant. Among the near-poor the same findings occur, although the differences are less sharp and less often statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The most obvious explanation is that the poor, and to a considerable extent the near-poor, have limited access because of copayments and deductibles that are typically part of private insurance coverage. The findings raise policy questions regarding the utility of either "play or pay" employer-provided insurance or income tax deductions to increase access.

Data Collection↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Are California's large employers moving to catastrophic health insurance coverage?

Large employers in California are experimenting with new health benefit and insurance options as premium rates continue to escalate. This study examines the offer and penetration rates of catastrophic coverage insurance products, including high-deductible PPO and consumer-driven health plans, among large California employers before the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 was passed. Only a few employers offered these plans, and they did not provide adequate incentives for their workers to accept. California employers, like the rest of the nation, implemented these plans as alternatives rather than replacements to their current plan choices.

California↗