When Should There Be Vertical Choice in Health Insurance Markets?

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2022
Volume: 112
Issue: 1
Pages: 304-42

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We study the welfare effects of offering choice over coverage levels—"vertical choice"—in regulated health insurance markets. We emphasize that heterogeneity in efficient coverage level is not sufficient to motivate choice. When premiums cannot reflect individuals' costs, it may not be in consumers' best interest to select their efficient coverage level. We show that vertical choice is efficient only if consumers with higher willingness to pay have a higher efficient level of coverage. We investigate this condition empirically and find that as long as a minimum coverage level can be enforced, the welfare gains from vertical choice are either zero or economically small.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:112:y:2022:i:1:p:304-42
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25