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Did Massachusetts health-care reform affect prices?

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Abstract

The 2006 health-care reform in Massachusetts relied heavily on the private insurance market. Recent evidence shows that the reform boosted payments to physicians from private insurers by 13% relative to other areas. This increase began immediately before the reform became law, suggesting that insurers raised payments in anticipation of the change. The reform may have also caused the state?s insurance premiums to fall. Overall, evidence suggests that the Massachusetts health-care reform shifted dollars away from insurers and towards providers and consumers.

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  • Adam Hale Shapiro, 2015. "Did Massachusetts health-care reform affect prices?," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfel:00053
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jonathan Gruber, 2011. "The Impacts of the Affordable Care Act: How Reasonable Are the Projections?," NBER Working Papers 17168, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. John A. Graves & Jonathan Gruber, 2012. "How Did Health Care Reform in Massachusetts Impact Insurance Premiums?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 508-513, May.
    3. Gruber, Jonathan, 2011. "The Impacts of the Affordable Care Act: How Reasonable Are the Projections?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 64(3), pages 893-908, September.
    4. Dunn, Abe & Shapiro, Adam Hale, 2015. "Physician payments under health care reform," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 89-105.
    5. Jeffrey Clemens & Joshua D. Gottlieb & Adam Hale Shapiro, 2014. "How much do Medicare cuts reduce inflation?," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    6. Abe Dunn & Adam Hale Shapiro, 2014. "Do Physicians Possess Market Power?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(1), pages 159-193.
    7. Amy Finkelstein, 2007. "The Aggregate Effects of Health Insurance: Evidence from the Introduction of Medicare," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(1), pages 1-37.
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