Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/103841 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Papers No. 13-05
Publisher: 
University of Bern, Department of Economics, Bern
Abstract: 
We estimate the causal effect of having full health insurance on health care expenditures. We take advantage of a unique quasi-experimental setup in which deductibles and co- payments were zero in a managed care plan, and non-zero in regular insurance, until a policy change forced all individuals with an active plan to cover a minimum amount of their expenses. Using panel data and a non-linear difference-in-differences strategy, we find a demand elasticity of about -0.14 comparing full insurance with the cost-sharing model, and a significant upward shift in the likelihood to generate costs.
Subjects: 
Deductibles
health cost
quasi experiment
changes-in-changes
JEL: 
I11
C14
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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