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On the Over-Provision of Medical Insurance

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Abstract

This paper considers the general equilibrium implications of moral hazard in private health insurance markets. We show that the structure of standard contracts gives rise to a pecuniary externality whereby individuals ignore the impact of their insurance purchases on the future price of care. At the equilibrium, individuals over-insure against health expenditure risk, and over-spend on medical services while facing an excessive price of care. Reducing insurance coverage at the margin can mitigate the externality by exerting downward pressure on prices, thereby raising welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Afrasiab Mirza & Eric Stephens, 2024. "On the Over-Provision of Medical Insurance," Carleton Economic Papers 25-02, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:car:carecp:25-02
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pauly, Mark V. & Blavin, Fredric E., 2008. "Moral hazard in insurance, value-based cost sharing, and the benefits of blissful ignorance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1407-1417, December.
    2. Liran Einav & Amy Finkelstein, 2018. "Moral Hazard in Health Insurance: What We Know and How We Know It," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 957-982.
    3. Martin Gaynor & Deborah Haas-Wilson & William B. Vogt, 2000. "Are Invisible Hands Good Hands? Moral Hazard, Competition, and the Second-Best in Health Care Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(5), pages 992-1005, October.
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    5. Feldman, Roger & Dowd, Bryan, 1991. "A New Estimate of the Welfare Loss of Excess Health Insurance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(1), pages 297-301, March.
    6. Feldstein, Martin & Friedman, Bernard, 1977. "Tax subsidies, the rational demand for insurance and the health care crisis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 155-178, April.
    7. Berthold U. Wigger & Markus Anlauf, 2007. "Do Consumers Purchase Too Much Health Insurance? The Role of Market Power in Health‐Care Markets," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 9(3), pages 547-561, June.
    8. Hart, Oliver D., 1975. "On the optimality of equilibrium when the market structure is incomplete," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 418-443, December.
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    10. Geanakoplos, J. & Polemarchakis, H., 1985. "Existence,regularity, and constrained suboptimality of competitive allocations when the asset market is incomplete," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 1985037, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D52 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Incomplete Markets
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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