Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/69996 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 4111
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
We determine the optimal health policy mix when the average utility of patients increases with the supply of drugs available in a therapeutic class. Health risk coverage rely on two instruments, copayment and reference pricing, that affect the supported risk composed by health expenses and diversity of treatment. For a fixed supply of drugs, the reference pricing policy aims at minimizing expenses in which case, the equilibrium price of drugs is independent of the copayment rate. However, with endogenous supply of drugs, diversity of treatment may substitute for insurance so that the reference pricing may depart from maximal cost-containment to promote entry. We then analyse the determinants of the optimal policy. While an increase in risk aversion or in the side effect loss increases diversity and decreases the copayment rate, an increase in entry cost both decreases diversity and the copayment rate.
JEL: 
I18
L11
L15
L51
Document Type: 
Working Paper
Appears in Collections:

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.