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Do increased premium subsidies affect how much health insurance is purchased? Evidence from the self-employed

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  • Heim, Bradley T.
  • Lurie, Ithai Z.

Abstract

This paper estimates the effect of recent federal and state level increases in the deductibility of health insurance premiums for self-employed individuals, which reduced the after-tax price of health insurance, on both the take-up of coverage and the amount of insurance purchased. Using a panel of tax returns filed by self-employed taxpayers from 1999 to 2004, we estimate a take-up elasticity of -0.316 overall, with significantly higher elasticities for single taxpayers. On the intensive margin, we find an elasticity of -0.733 overall.

Suggested Citation

  • Heim, Bradley T. & Lurie, Ithai Z., 2009. "Do increased premium subsidies affect how much health insurance is purchased? Evidence from the self-employed," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1197-1210, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:28:y:2009:i:6:p:1197-1210
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marquis, M. Susan & Long, Stephen H., 1995. "Worker demand for health insurance in the non-group market," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 47-63, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fossen, Frank M. & König, Johannes, 2015. "Public health insurance and entry into self-employment," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112934, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Gulcin Gumus & Tracy Regan, 2007. "Self-Employment and the Role of Health Insurance," Working Papers 0910, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
    3. Gumus, Gulcin & Regan, Tracy L., 2015. "Self-employment and the role of health insurance in the U.S," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 357-374.
    4. Frank M. Fossen & Johannes König, 2017. "Public health insurance, individual health, and entry into self-employment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 647-669, October.
    5. Liu, Yiyan & Jin, Ginger Zhe, 2015. "Employer contribution and premium growth in health insurance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 228-247.
    6. Heim, Bradley T. & Lurie, Ithai Z., 2010. "The effect of self-employed health insurance subsidies on self-employment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(11-12), pages 995-1007, December.
    7. Yiyan Liu & Ginger Zhe Jin, 2013. "Employer Contribution and Premium Growth in Health Insurance," NBER Working Papers 19760, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Tracy L. Regan & Gulcin Gumus, 2006. "Tax Incentives as a Solution to the Uninsured: Evidence from the Self-Employed," Working Papers 0709, University of Miami, Department of Economics, revised Oct 2007.
    9. Asako S. Moriya & Kosali Simon, 2014. "Impact of Premium Subsidies on the Take-up of Health Insurance: Evidence from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)," NBER Working Papers 20196, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Ye, Jinqi, 2015. "The effect of Health Savings Accounts on group health insurance coverage," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 238-254.
    11. Donald Alexander & Jon Neill, 2015. "The Impact of Market Share on Health Insurance Premiums," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 43(4), pages 477-488, December.
    12. Yu-Chen Kuo & Jia-Huey Lin, 2020. "Picking the lock: how universal healthcare programs influence entrepreneurial activities," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 3-24, January.
    13. Tadashi Yamada & Tetsuji Yamada & Chia-Ching Chen & Weihong Zeng, 2014. "Determinants of health insurance and hospitalization," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 1-27, December.
    14. Jesse M. Hinde, 2017. "Incentive(less)? The Effectiveness of Tax Credits and Cost-Sharing Subsidies in the Affordable Care Act," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 3(3), pages 346-369, Summer.
    15. Pichler, Stefan & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2024. "Sick Leave and Medical Leave in the United States: A Categorization and Recent Trends," IZA Policy Papers 206, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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