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The Interaction of Public and Private Insurance: Medicaid and the Long-Term Care Insurance Market

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Author Info
Jeffrey R. Brown
Amy Finkelstein

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Abstract

We show that even incomplete public insurance can crowd out private insurance demand. We estimate that Medicaid could explain the lack of private long-term care insurance for about two-thirds of the wealth distribution, even if no other factors limited the market's size. Yet Medicaid provides incomplete consumption smoothing for most individuals. Medicaid's crowd-out effect stems from the large implicit tax (about 60-75 percent for a median-wealth individual) that Medicaid imposes on private insurance. An implication is that public policies designed to stimulate the private insurance market will have limited efficacy as long as Medicaid's large implicit tax remains.

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File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1257/aer.98.3.1083
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Publisher Info
Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal American Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 98 (2008)
Issue (Month): 3 (June)
Pages: 1083-1102
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Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:98:y:2008:i:3:p:1083-1102

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Pauly, Mark V, 1990. "The Rational Nonpurchase of Long-term-Care Insurance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(1), pages 153-68, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  3. Joseph P. Newhouse, 2004. "Pricing the Priceless: A Health Care Conundrum," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262640589.
  4. Hurd, Michael D, 1989. "Mortality Risk and Bequests," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(4), pages 779-813, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  6. Thomas Davidoff & Jeffrey R. Brown & Peter A. Diamond, 2003. "Annuities and Individual Welfare," NBER Working Papers 9714, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Jorgenson, Dale W & Slesnick, Daniel T, 1987. "Aggregate Consumer Behavior and Household Equivalence Scales," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 5(2), pages 219-32, April.
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  13. Steven J. Davis & Felix Kubler & Paul Willen, 2002. "Borrowing Costs and the Demand for Equity Over the Life Cycle," NBER Working Papers 9331, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Cutler, David M & Gruber, Jonathan, 1996. "Does Public Insurance Crowd Out Private Insurance?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 111(2), pages 391-430, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. Jeffrey R. Brown & James M. Poterba, 1999. "Joint Life Annuities and Annuity Demand by Married Couples," NBER Working Papers 7199, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Robert B. Barsky & Miles S. Kimball & F. Thomas Juster & Matthew D. Shapiro, 1997. "Preference Parameters and Behavioral Heterogeneity: An Experimental Approach in the Health and Retirement Survey," NBER Working Papers 5213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. David I. Laibson & Andrea Repetto & Jeremy Tobacman, 1998. "Self-Control and Saving for Retirement," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 29(1998-1), pages 91-196. [Downloadable!]
  19. Jeffrey R. Brown & Amy Finkelstein, 2004. "Supply or Demand: Why is the Market for Long-Term Care Insurance So Small?," NBER Working Papers 10782, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  22. Darius Lakdawalla & Dana Goldman & Jay Bhattacharya, 2001. "Are the Young Becoming More Disabled?," NBER Working Papers 8247, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Jeffrey R. Brown & Norma B. Coe & Amy Finkelstein, 2006. "Medicaid Crowd-Out of Private Long-Term Care Insurance Demand: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Survey," NBER Working Papers 12536, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Bolhaar, Jonneke & Lindeboom, Maarten & van der Klaauw, Bas, 2008. "A Dynamic Analysis of the Demand for Health Insurance and Health Care," IZA Discussion Papers 3698, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Howard Gleckman, 2007. "The Role of Private Insurance in Financing Long-Term Care," Issues in Brief ib2007-7-13, Center for Retirement Research, revised Sep 2007. [Downloadable!]
  4. Karen Kopecky & Tatyana Koreshkova, 2009. "The Impact of Medical and Nursing Home Expenses and Social Insurance Policies on Savings and Inequality," Working Papers 09006, Concordia University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Jeffrey R. Brown, 2007. "Rational and Behavioral Perspectives on the Role of Annuities in Retirement Planning," NBER Working Papers 13537, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Howard Gleckman, 2008. "How Can We Improve Long-Term Care Financing?," Issues in Brief ib2008-8-8, Center for Retirement Research, revised Jun 2008. [Downloadable!]
  7. John Ameriks & Andrew Caplin & Steven Laufer & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2007. "The Joy of Giving or Assisted Living? Using Strategic Surveys to Separate Bequest and Precautionary Motives," NBER Working Papers 13105, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Olesya Baker & Phil Doctor & Eric French, 2007. "Asset rundown after retirement: the importance of rate of return shocks," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, issue Q II, pages 48-65. [Downloadable!]
  9. Alicia H. Munnell & Anthony Webb & Francesca Golub-Sass & Dan Muldoon, . "Long-term Care Costs and The National Retirement Risk Index," Issues in Brief ib2009-9-7, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  10. Amy Finkelstein & Robin McKnight, 2005. "What Did Medicare Do (And Was It Worth It)?," NBER Working Papers 11609, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Paulson, Nicholas D. & Babcock, Bruce A., 2008. "Get a Grip: Should Area Revenue Coverage Be Offered Through the Farm Bill or as a Crop Insurance Program?," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 33(2), August. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Andrew M. Cohen & Beth A. Freeborn & Brian McManus, 2007. "Competition and Crowding-Out among Public, Non-Profit and For-Profit Organizations: Evidence from Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment," Working Papers 52, Department of Economics, College of William and Mary. [Downloadable!]
  13. Richard w. Johnson & Cori Uccello, 2005. "Is Private Long-Term Care Insurance the Answer?," Issues in Brief ib29, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  14. Hanming Fang & Alessandro Gavazza, 2007. "Dynamic Inefficiencies in Employment-Based Health Insurance System Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 13371, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Liran Einav & Amy Finkelstein & Paul Schrimpf, 2007. "The Welfare Cost of Asymmetric Information: Evidence from the U.K. Annuity Market," NBER Working Papers 13228, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Amy Finkelstein & Kathleen McGarry, 2006. "Multiple Dimensions of Private Information: Evidence from the Long-Term Care Insurance Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(4), pages 938-958, September. [Downloadable!]
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