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The Effect of Increases in Health Insurance Premiums on Labor Market Outcomes
January 2006 · Katherine Baicker, University of California at Los Angeles, Amitabh Chandra, Harvard University ·
In the United States, two-thirds of the non-elderly population is covered by employer-provided health insurance. The cost of this insurance has increased by more than 59 percent since 2000, with no accompanying increase in the scale or scope of benefits. These increases in health insurance premiums may have significant effects on both health insurance markets and labor markets, including changes in the number of jobs, hours worked… -
An Analysis of the Dynamics of Health Insurance Coverage and Implications for Employer-Mandated Insurance
January 2006 · Robert W. Fairlie - University of California, Santa Cruz and Rebecca A. London, University of California, Santa Cruz ·
Over the last several years, there has been a lot of attention paid to the increasing number of Americans without health insurance. News reports often discuss the 45 million people—representing 16 percent of the population—who are uninsured. The increasing number of uninsured Americans is a concern because these individuals are less likely to receive adequate medical care. For example, studies have shown that the uninsured are three… -
Making Markets Work: Five Steps To A Better Health Care System
December 2005 · John F. Cogan, R. Glenn Hubbard and Daniel P. Kessler ·
Abstract Although the U.S. health care system has made remarkable advancements, it is costly and wasteful, and it leaves many people without appropriate care. The challenge for public policy is to enable consumers and taxpayers to obtain good value for their health care dollars. Achieving this objective stands the greatest chance of success if health care markets function well. To make markets work, we recommend changes in… -
Employer Health Insurance Mandates and the Risk of Unemployment
June 2005 · Katherine Baicker - Dartmouth University, Helen Levy - University of Michigan ·
Overview As healthcare costs continue to rise, the growing number of uninsured Americans receives a great deal of attention from policy-makers. In response, state legislatures cross the country are experimenting with mandates requiring employers to provide health insurance to their employees. Last November, California voters narrowly defeated Proposition 72. This initiative would have required all employers with more than 20 employees to either provide comprehensive health coverage… -
The Cost of Washington’s Health Care Responsibility Act
February 2005 · Employment Policies Institute ·
Executive Summary The recently proposed Health Care Responsibility Act (HCRA) is a costly and inefficient attempt to address the problem of the uninsured in Washington. HCRA is a “pay or play” mandate on employers with more than 50 employees in the state. Under a pay or play system, employers have the option of “paying” a fee to the state to cover the cost of providing insurance to… -
The Economic Impact of Proposition 72 on California Employers
September 2004 · Dr. Aaron Yelowitz - University of Kentucky ·
On January 1, 2006, California businesses will be subjected to one of the most costly and inefficient pieces of labor law legislation ever created. California’s Senate Bill 2 (referred to in this study interchangeably as SB 2, the Health Insurance Act of 2003, HIA, and Proposition 72) requires all employers in California with more than 20 employees to provide full medical insurance for their employees. This study…