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Business and Economics > Insurance

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 13 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Analysis of Health Care Markets x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
U.S. Healthcare: A Story of Rising Market Power, Barriers to Entry, and Supply Constraints
Ms. Li Lin
and
Mr. Mico Mrkaic
Healthcare in the United States is the most expensive in the world, with real per capita spending growth averaging 4 percent since 1980. This paper examines the role of market power of U.S. healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies. It finds that markups (the ability to charge prices above marginal costs) for publicly listed firms in the U.S. healthcare sector have almost doubled since the early 1980s and that they explain up to a quarter of average annual real per capita healthcare spending growth. The paper also finds evidence that the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion were successful in raising coverage and expanding care, but may have had the undesirable side-effect of leading to labor cost increases: Hourly wages for healthcare practitioners are estimated to have increased by 2 to 3 percent more in Medicaid expansion states over a five-year period, which could be an indication that the supply of medical services is relatively inelastic, even over a long time horizon, to the boost to demand created by the Medicaid expansion. These findings suggest that promoting more competition in healthcare markets and reducing barriers to entry can help contain healthcare costs.
Keywords:
Medicaid expansion; sector markup; healthcare cost; healthcare in the United States; healthcare provider; Wages; Employment; Insurance companies; Insurance; Labor costs; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Unintended Effects From the Expansion of the Non-Contributory Health System in Peru
Mr. Jose L. Torres
Over the last two decades, the Peruvian government has made great efforts to improve access to health care by significantly augmenting the coverage of the non-contributory public health care system Seguro Integral de Salud (SIS). This expansion has a positive impact on welfare and public health indicators, as it limits the risk of catastrophic health-related costs for previously uninsured individuals and allows for the appropriate treatment of illnesses. However, it also entails some unintended consequences for informality, tax revenues, and GDP, since a few formal agents are paying for a service that the majority of (informal) agents receive for free. In this paper, we use a general equilibrium model calibrated for Peru to simulate the expansion of SIS to quantify the unintended effects. We find that overall welfare increases, but informality rises by 2.7 percent, while tax revenues and output decrease by roughly 0.1 percent. Given the extent of the expansion in eligibility, the economic relevance of these results seems negligible. However, this occurs because the expansion of coverage was mostly funded by reducing the spending per-insured person. In fact, we find larger costs if public spending is increased to improve the quality of service given universal coverage.
Keywords:
care system Seguro Integral de Salud; IMF working paper Western Hemisphere department; unintended effect; health shock; health risk; avg. health spending; non-contributory health system SIS; Self-employment; Health care; Health care spending; Insurance; South America; Caribbean
Cover The Economics of Public Health Care Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies
The Economics of Public Health Care Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies
Mr. David Coady
,
Mr. Benedict J. Clements
, and
Mr. Sanjeev Gupta

Abstract

Using cross-country analysis and case studies, this book provides new insights and potential policy responses for the key fiscal policy challenges that both advanced and emerging economies will be facing.

Keywords:
BOOK; spending; health system; health outcome; cost; EAP country; health spending; OECD health data; Health care spending; Health care; Insurance; Global; Asia and Pacific; Europe; East Asia; Africa; system efficiency; Caribbean
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
Health Care Spending Issues in Advanced Economies
Ms. Eva Jenkner
and
Adam Leive
This technical note analyzes the health care spending issues in advanced economies. Both public and total health spending have increased substantially in advanced countries. Total health spending increased by more than 6 percentage points of GDP in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries between 1970 and 2007. This note examines the recent trends in health care spending in advanced countries. It discusses the main challenges for advanced countries over the medium term. Policy options for containing health care costs are also described.
Keywords:
TNM; patient; spending; cost; physician; health care spending; health reforms; cost containment; advanced economies; provider payment method; cost sharing; health status; Medicaid patient; OECD health datum; physician payment; expenditure growth; health sector; prescription drug spending; Health care; Insurance; Africa; Caribbean
Cover IMF Working Papers
What Should Macroeconomists Know about Health Care Policy?
Mr. Peter S. Heller
This primer aims to provide IMF macroeconomists with the essential information they need to address issues concerning health sector policy, particularly when they have significant macroeconomic implications. Such issues can also affect equity and growth and are fundamental to any strategy of poverty reduction. The primer highlights the appropriate roles for the state and market in health care financing and provision. It also suggests situations in which macroeconomists should engage health sector specialists in policy formulation exercises. Finally, it reviews the different health policy issues that confront countries at alternative stages of economic development and the range of appropriate policy options.
Keywords:
WP; health system; expenditure inflation; health sector; health status; health expenditure; health practitioner
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Limits of Market-Based Risk Transfer and Implications for Managing Systemic Risks
Mr. Nicolas R Blancher
,
François Haas
,
Mr. John Kiff
,
Ms. Oksana Khadarina
,
Mr. Paul S. Mills
,
Parmeshwar Ramlogan
,
Mr. William Lee
,
Ms. Yoon Sook Kim
,
Todd Groome
, and
Mr. Shinobu Nakagawa
The paper discusses the limits to market-based risk transfer in the financial system and the implications for the management of systemic long-term financial risks. Financial instruments or markets to transfer and better manage these risks across institutions and sectors are, as yet, either nascent or nonexistent. As such, the paper investigates why these markets remain "incomplete." It also explores a range of options by which policymakers may encourage the development of these markets as part of governments' role as a risk manager.
Keywords:
WP; transfer market; market participant; longevity risk; risk transfer; transfer activity
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Belgium: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund
Belgium has effected a remarkable fiscal adjustment, best illustrated by the decline in its public debt. While benefiting from an appreciable decline in interest rates, most of the underlying consolidation reflected a considerable increase in the tax burden, one of the highest in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. This paper analyzes the social transfer system in Belgium. Belgium has a very accessible and equitable health care system. The system is characterized by high input levels and service volumes.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Belgium; employment rate; wage; growth norm; health spending; D. employment Policy; system performance; Health care spending; Health care; Employment; Unemployment; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Germany: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund
This Selected Issues paper examines Germany’s growth record in 1992–2001 and analyzes how future performance might be enhanced. The paper focuses on the longer-term strains on the public finances. It reviews Germany’s external competitiveness, which deteriorated substantially in the wake of unification, and concludes that, by the beginning of the current decade, competitiveness had been largely restored. The paper also examines the recent slowdown in credit, which has gone beyond what might be expected on cyclical grounds.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Germany; exchange rate appreciation; pass-through effect; credit growth; TFP growth; credit-risk variable; Health care spending; Health care; Insurance; Labor markets; Global; Europe; Eastern Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Kingdom of the Netherlands-Netherlands: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund
This Selected Issues paper highlights that over the past decade, the Netherlands has undergone a remarkable fiscal adjustment, with the deficit, the tax burden, and the expenditure-to-GDP ratio falling significantly. The switch from a deficit-target-based to an expenditure-target-based fiscal framework in 1994 and commitments to two successive four-year fiscal plans have played an important role. The current multiyear framework expires in 2002, and the Study Group on the Budgetary Margin has produced recommendations for the coming government period.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; minimum wage; central government; income support; purchasing power; SER proposal; sick leave; Kingdom of the Netherlands-Netherlands; break-even wage; CPB simulation; GDP deflator; work contract; expenditure ceiling; high'skill worker; wage supplement; SER report; Income; Wages; Health care; Insurance
Cover IMF Working Papers
Health Care Cost Containment
Ms. Ellen Marie Nedde
The IMF Working Papers series is designed to make IMF staff research available to a wide audience. Almost 300 Working Papers are released each year, covering a wide range of theoretical and analytical topics, including balance of payments, monetary and fiscal issues, global liquidity, and national and international economic developments.
Keywords:
WP; CBO cost estimate; containment effort; health insurance insurance coverage; containment measure; cost-consciousness decision making; health expenditure; containment policy; containment strategy; control effort; cost estimate; containment act; Health care spending; Insurance; Health care; Health care reform; Global