Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/88601 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
cege Discussion Papers No. 179
Publisher: 
University of Göttingen, Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research (cege), Göttingen
Abstract: 
This paper analyzes the consequences of parallel trade on health care systems in a two-country model with a vertical distributor relationship. In particular, two cost-sharing systems - coinsurance and indemnity insurance - are compared with respect to changes in copayments and public health expenditure. Under both cost-sharing systems, parallel trade generates a price-decreasing competition effect in the destination country and a price-increasing double marginalization effect in the source country. In the destination country, copayments for patients decrease to a larger extent under indemnity insurance, whereas reductions of public health expenditure occur only under coinsurance. In the source country, copayments increase less under coinsurance, whereas health expenditure is reduced more under indemnity insurance. This illustrates that a harmonization of health care systems would not make sense.
Subjects: 
cost-sharing
parallel trade
coinsurance rates
indemnity insurance
JEL: 
F12
I11
I18
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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