_________________________________________________________________
E M P L O Y E E B E N E F I T S , C O M P E N S A T I O N
& P E N S I O N L A W
Vol. 6, No. 8: April 21, 2005
_________________________________________________________________
Publisher: Employment, Labor, Compensation & Pension Law Journals
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and Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
Editor: PAMELA PERUN
Urban Institute
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Copyright: SSEP, Inc. 2005. All rights reserved.
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Topic of This Issue:
Heathcare Benefits
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T A B L E of C O N T E N T S
_________________________________________________________________
NEW and FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
"The Impact of the Erosion of Retiree Health Benefits on Workers
and Retirees"
EBRI Issue Brief, No. 279, March 2005
PAUL FRONSTIN
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
"Potential State Government Practices Impact of the New GASB
Accounting Standard for Retiree Health Benefits"
Public Budgeting & Finance, Vol. 25, pp. 104-118, March
2005
STANLEY C. WISNIEWSKI
Workplace Economics, Inc.
"The Relationship Between Income and Health Insurance: Rethinking
the Use of Family Income in the Current Population Survey"
EBRI Notes, Vol. 26, No. 2, February 2005
PAUL FRONSTIN
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
"Social Health Insurance: Key Factors Affecting the Transition
Towards Universal Coverage"
International Social Security Review, Vol. 58, No. 1, pp.
45-64, January 2005
GUY CARRIN
World Health Organization
CHRIS JAMES
World Health Organization
WORKING PAPERS
"Health and Health Insurance: Analysis of Plan Switching
Behavior"
RUSTY TCHERNIS
Department of Economics, Indiana University
SHARON-LISE T. NORMAND
Harvard Medical School & Harvard School of Public
JULIANA PAKES
Harvard University
Department of Medicine
PETER GACCIONE
Harvard University
Department of Medicine
JOSEPH P. NEWHOUSE
Harvard Medical School
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
"The Labor Market Effects of Rising Health Insurance Premiums"
KATHERINE BAICKER
Dartmouth College
Department of Economics
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
AMITABH CHANDRA
Dartmouth College
Department of Economics
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
"Extending Health Care Coverage to the Low-Income Population: The
Influence of the Wisconsin BadgerCare Program on Labor Market
Outcomes"
BARBARA L. WOLFE
University of Wisconsin - Madison
College of Letters and Science
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
THOMAS KAPLAN
University of Wisconsin at Madison
ROBERT H. HAVEMAN
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Department of Economics
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
YOONYOUNG CHO
University of Wisconsin at Madison
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EDITORIAL POLICIES
To provide the broadest coverage of research in Employee
Benefits, Compensation & Pension Law we do not referee working
papers. We accept abstracts of working papers in Employee
Benefits, Compensation & Pension Law whose topics suit the
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scholarly discourse.
N E W and F O R T H C O M I N G Articles
_________________________________________________________________
"The Impact of the Erosion of Retiree Health Benefits on Workers
and Retirees"
EBRI Issue Brief, No. 279, March 2005
BY: PAUL FRONSTIN
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=695262
Contact: PAUL FRONSTIN
Email: Mailto:FRONSTIN@EBRI.ORG
Postal: Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
Suite 600
2121 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037-1896 UNITED STATES
Phone: 202-775-6352
Fax: 202-775-6312
ABSTRACT:
This paper uses recently released data from the U.S. Census
Bureau to examine the impact of the erosion of retiree health
benefits on workers and retirees. One section examines recent
trends in retiree health benefits. Another section examines the
impact of the erosion of retiree health benefits on the
percentage of retirees with benefits and how that has changed.
The final section discusses the impact of this erosion on the
percentage of workers expecting retiree health benefits and how
that has changed.
JEL Classification: H51, H72, I1, I18, J14, J32
______________________________
"Potential State Government Practices Impact of the New GASB
Accounting Standard for Retiree Health Benefits"
Public Budgeting & Finance, Vol. 25, pp. 104-118, March
2005
BY: STANLEY C. WISNIEWSKI
Workplace Economics, Inc.
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=664142
Contact: STANLEY C. WISNIEWSKI
Email: not available
Postal: Workplace Economics, Inc.
Washington, DC 20033-0367 UNITED STATES
Phone: 202-223-9191
Fax: 301-774-7485
ABSTRACT:
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has adopted a
new accounting standard for state and local government retiree
healthcare benefits that, for many states, will require accrual
accounting for such benefits for the first time. The purpose of
this paper is to examine the recent reporting practices of state
governments with respect to retiree health insurance programs
sponsored by the states in order to determine the dimensions of
potential state employer practices likely to be changed by the
new Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) standard with respect
to accounting for such state plans, as well as financing and
offering such state plans.
______________________________
"The Relationship Between Income and Health Insurance: Rethinking
the Use of Family Income in the Current Population Survey"
EBRI Notes, Vol. 26, No. 2, February 2005
BY: PAUL FRONSTIN
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=679032
Contact: PAUL FRONSTIN
Email: Mailto:FRONSTIN@EBRI.ORG
Postal: Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
Suite 600
2121 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037-1896 UNITED STATES
Phone: 202-775-6352
Fax: 202-775-6312
ABSTRACT:
The Census Bureau finds that individuals with family income of
$50,000 or more account for 11 million individuals (or 25
percent) of the uninsured and are the fastest-growing segment of
the uninsured. This paper examines why this apparently
high-income population does not have health insurance coverage.
One section examines the relationship between family status and
family income and discusses the implications for counting the
number of high-income uninsured. Other sections examine the
demographics and job characteristics of the uninsured, by family
income, family status, and personal earnings. The conclusion
includes a recommendation for future research.
The PDF for the above title, published in the February 2005
issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the full text of another
February 2005 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: "Retirement
Annuity and Employment-Based Pension Income."
JEL Classification: I1, J1
______________________________
"Social Health Insurance: Key Factors Affecting the Transition
Towards Universal Coverage"
International Social Security Review, Vol. 58, No. 1, pp.
45-64, January 2005
BY: GUY CARRIN
World Health Organization
CHRIS JAMES
World Health Organization
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=658515
Contact: GUY CARRIN
Email: Mailto:CarrinG@who.ch
Postal: World Health Organization
20, Avenue Appia
CH-1211 Geneva 27, SWITZERLAND
Co-Auth: CHRIS JAMES
Email: not available
Postal: World Health Organization
20, Avenue Appia
CH-1211 Geneva 27, SWITZERLAND
ABSTRACT:
Several low- and middle-income countries are interested in
extending their existing health insurance for specific groups to
eventually cover their entire populations. For those countries
interested in such an extension, it is important to understand
the factors that affect the transition from incomplete to
universal coverage. This paper analyses the experience of eight
countries in the implementation of social health insurance. It
highlights the importance of the socioeconomic and political
context, particularly in relation to the level of income,
structure of the economy, distribution of the population,
ability to administer and level of solidarity within the
country, but also stresses the important stewardship role
government can play in facilitating the transition to universal
coverage via social health insurance.
______________________________
W O R K I N G P A P E R Abstracts
_________________________________________________________________
"Health and Health Insurance: Analysis of Plan Switching
Behavior"
BY: RUSTY TCHERNIS
Department of Economics, Indiana University
SHARON-LISE T. NORMAND
Harvard Medical School & Harvard School of Public
JULIANA PAKES
Harvard University
Department of Medicine
PETER GACCIONE
Harvard University
Department of Medicine
JOSEPH P. NEWHOUSE
Harvard Medical School
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=670306
Date: January 17, 2005
Contact: RUSTY TCHERNIS
Email: Mailto:rtcherni@indiana.edu
Postal: Department of Economics, Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405-6620 UNITED STATES
Co-Auth: SHARON-LISE T. NORMAND
Email: Mailto:SHARON@HCP.MED.HARVARD.EDU
Postal: Harvard Medical School & Harvard School of Public
Dept. of Biostatistics
Boston, MA 02115 UNITED STATES
Co-Auth: JULIANA PAKES
Email: Mailto:pakes@hcp.med.harvard.edu
Postal: Harvard University
Department of Medicine
181 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115 UNITED STATES
Co-Auth: PETER GACCIONE
Email: Mailto:gaccione@hcp.med.harvard.edu
Postal: Harvard University
Department of Medicine
181 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115 UNITED STATES
Co-Auth: JOSEPH P. NEWHOUSE
Email: Mailto:NEWHOUSE@HCP.MED.HARVARD.EDU
Postal: Harvard Medical School
Department of Health Care Policy
Boston, MA 02115 UNITED STATES
ABSTRACT:
A majority of employers offer a choice of more and less
restrictive health insurance plans to their employees, who
switch between plans as a reaction to changes in prices,
information and health status. We analyze the switching behavior
caused by changes in health status of employees. We show that
switchers to a more restrictive plan exhibit lower medical
spending prior to the switch, while the switchers to a less
restrictive plan anticipate higher spending and delay their
spending until after the switch. This transfer of costs from a
more to a less restrictive plan increases the burden of adverse
selection. Compared with an earlier study, our data suggest that
switching may be more important to the level of premiums than
previously documented.
JEL Classification: I11
______________________________
"The Labor Market Effects of Rising Health Insurance Premiums"
BY: KATHERINE BAICKER
Dartmouth College
Department of Economics
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
AMITABH CHANDRA
Dartmouth College
Department of Economics
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=673247
Paper ID: NBER Working Paper No. W11160
Date: February 2005
Contact: KATHERINE BAICKER
Email: Mailto:KBAICKER@DARTMOUTH.EDU
Postal: Dartmouth College
Department of Economics
6106 Rockefeller Hall
Hanover, NH 03755 UNITED STATES
Phone: 603-646-2943
Fax: 603-646-2122
Co-Auth: AMITABH CHANDRA
Email: Mailto:amitabh.chandra@dartmouth.edu
Postal: Dartmouth College
Department of Economics
6106 Rockefeller Hall
Hanover, NH 03755 UNITED STATES
ABSTRACT:
Since 2000, premiums for employer-provided health insurance have
increased by 59 percent with little corresponding increase in
the generosity of coverage. The effect of this increase in costs
on wages and employment will depend on workers' valuation of the
benefit, the elasticities of labor supply and demand, and
institutional constraints on employers' ability to lower wages.
Measuring these effects is difficult, however, without a source
of exogenous variation in the cost of benefits. We use variation
in medical malpractice payments driven by the recent "medical
malpractice crisis" to identify the causal effect of rising
health insurance premiums on wages, employment, and health
insurance coverage. We estimate that a 10 percent increase in
health insurance premiums reduces the aggregate probability of
being employed by 1.6 percent and hours worked by 1 percent, and
increases the likelihood that a worker is employed only
part-time by 1.9 percent. For workers covered by employer
provided health insurance, this increase in premiums results in
an offsetting decrease in wages of 2.3 percent. Thus, rising
health insurance premiums may both increase the ranks of the
unemployed and place an increasing burden on workers through
decreased wages for workers with employer health insurance and
decreased hours for workers moved from full time jobs with
benefits to part time jobs without.
JEL Classification: I1, J0, J3
______________________________
"Extending Health Care Coverage to the Low-Income Population: The
Influence of the Wisconsin BadgerCare Program on Labor Market
Outcomes"
BY: BARBARA L. WOLFE
University of Wisconsin - Madison
College of Letters and Science
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
THOMAS KAPLAN
University of Wisconsin at Madison
ROBERT H. HAVEMAN
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Department of Economics
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
YOONYOUNG CHO
University of Wisconsin at Madison
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=702403
Paper ID: IZA Discussion Paper No. 1546
Date: April 2005
Contact: BARBARA L. WOLFE
Email: Mailto:wolfe@lafollette.wisc.edu
Postal: University of Wisconsin - Madison
College of Letters and Science
Madison, WI 53706 UNITED STATES
Co-Auth: THOMAS KAPLAN
Email: Mailto:kaplan@ssc.wisc.edu
Postal: University of Wisconsin at Madison
Madison, WI 53706 UNITED STATES
Co-Auth: ROBERT H. HAVEMAN
Email: Mailto:HAVEMAN@LAFOLLETTE.WISC.EDU
Postal: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Department of Economics
1180 Observatory Drive
Madison, WI 53706 UNITED STATES
Co-Auth: YOONYOUNG CHO
Email: Mailto:yoonyoungcho@wisc.edu
Postal: University of Wisconsin at Madison
Madison, WI 53706 UNITED STATES
ABSTRACT:
The Wisconsin BadgerCare program, which became operational in
July 1999, expanded public health insurance eligibility to
families with incomes below 185 percent of the U.S poverty line
(200 percent for those already enrolled). This eligibility
expansion was part of a federal initiative known as the State
Children's Health Initiative Program (SCHIP). In this paper, we
investigate the effect of Wisconsin's BadgerCare on the labor
market outcomes of low-income single mothers. Using a
coordinated set of administrative databases, we track three
cohorts of mother-only families: those who were receiving cash
assistance under the Wisconsin AFDC and TANF programs in
September 1995, 1997, and 1999, and who subsequently left
welfare. We follow the 19,201 single mothers heading these
welfare leaver families on a quarterly basis from two years
before they left welfare through the end of 2001. We use
information on the labor market and welfare history of these
women and their household characteristics and macroeconomic
environment to analyze the effect of the availability of
additional public health coverage on their employment and
earnings. We apply multiple methods to investigate these
outcomes, comparing across- and within-individual differences.
The core finding is that labor earnings increased with the
introduction of BadgerCare. This increase was small in absolute
dollar value but sizeable in percentage terms.