Cover: The Economic Burden of Providing Health Insurance
Read Online

The Economic Burden of Providing Health Insurance

How Much Worse Off Are Small Firms?

by Christine Eibner

Download

Download eBook for Free

Full Document

FormatFile SizeNotes
PDF file 0.4 MB

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience.

Summary Only

FormatFile SizeNotes
PDF file 0.1 MB

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience.

Purchase

Purchase Print Copy

 FormatList Price Price
Add to Cart Paperback80 pages $23.00 $18.40 20% Web Discount

More than 60 percent of nonelderly Americans receive health-insurance (HI) coverage through employers, either as policyholders or as dependents. However, rising health-care costs are leading many to question the long-term viability of the employer-based insurance system. Concerns about the economic burden of providing HI are particularly acute for small businesses, which are both less likely than larger firms to offer HI and more sensitive to price when deciding to offer insurance. Small firms may have difficulty containing costs due to their limited bargaining power and their inability to hire experts skilled in negotiating with insurance companies. Further, while few recent studies have systematically explored differences in the quality of HI plans that small and large firms offer, small firms may offer health plans of lower quality. To better understand these issues, researchers from the Kauffman-RAND Institute for Entrepreneurship Public Policy (KRI) explored trends in the economic burden associated with HI provision, as well as the distribution of this burden, for small and large businesses. They also considered the quality of plans that small and large firms offer.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introduction

  • Chapter Two

    Data

  • Chapter Three

    Methods

  • Chapter Four

    Results

  • Chapter Five

    Limitations

  • Chapter Six

    Discussion

  • Chapter Seven

    Conclusion

  • Appendix

    Supporting Data

The research described in this report was conducted within the Kauffman-RAND Institute for Entrepreneurship Public Policy in the RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ). ICJ research is supported by pooled grants from corporations, trade and professional associations, and individuals; by government grants and contracts; and by private foundations.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Technical report series. RAND technical reports may include research findings on a specific topic that is limited in scope or intended for a narrow audience; present discussions of the methodology employed in research; provide literature reviews, survey instruments, modeling exercises, guidelines for practitioners and research professionals, and supporting documentation; or deliver preliminary findings. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure that they meet high standards for research quality and objectivity.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.