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Health Insurance Competition : The Effect of Group Contracts

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  • Boone, J.

    (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research)

  • Douven, R.C.M.H.
  • Droge, C.
  • Mosca, I.

    (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research)

Abstract

In countries like the US and the Netherlands health insurance is provided by private firms. These private firms can offer both individual and group contracts. The strategic and welfare implications of such group contracts are not well understood. Using a Dutch data set of about 700 group health insurance contracts over the period 2007-2008, we estimate a model to determine which factors explain the price of group contracts. We find that groups that are located close to an insurers' home turf pay a higher premium than other groups. This finding is not consistent with the bargaining argument in the literature as it implies that concentrated groups close to an insurer's home turf should get (if any) a larger discount than other groups. A simple Hotelling model, however, does explain our empirical results.
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Suggested Citation

  • Boone, J. & Douven, R.C.M.H. & Droge, C. & Mosca, I., 2010. "Health Insurance Competition : The Effect of Group Contracts," Discussion Paper 2010-55, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:tiu:tiucen:44af3534-397e-45cd-b1f9-5688a1eec6d3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter Zweifel & Harry Telser & Stephan Vaterlaus, 2006. "Consumer Resistance Against Regulation: The Case of Health Care," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 319-332, May.
    2. Rudy Douven & Marco Ligthart & H. Lieverdink & I. Vermeulen, 2007. "Measuring annual price elasticities in Dutch health insurance; a new method," CPB Discussion Paper 90, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    3. Rudy Douven & E. Schut, 2006. "Health plan pricing behaviour and managed competition," CPB Discussion Paper 61, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    4. Roman Inderst & Tommaso M. Valletti, 2011. "Buyer Power And The ‘Waterbed Effect’," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 1-20, March.
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    7. Evans, Robert G., 1987. "Public health insurance: the collective purchase of individual care," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 115-134, April.
    8. Machiel Dijk & Marc Pomp & Rudy Douven & Trea Laske-Aldershof & Erik Schut & Willem Boer & Anne Boo, 2008. "Consumer price sensitivity in Dutch health insurance," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 225-244, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rudy Douven & Remco Mocking & Ilaria Mosca, 2012. "The Effect of Physician Fees and Density Differences on Regional Variation in Hospital Treatments," CPB Discussion Paper 208, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    health insurance; health-plan choice; managed competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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