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Studies from University of Erlangen update current data on health insurance
November 26th, 2007
2007 NOV 26 -- "Several authors have suggested that consumers purchase too much health insurance in private markets. We readdress this issue within a model that combines excess health-care demand due to health insurance with market power due to monopolistic production of health-care services," scientists writing in the Journal of Public Economic Theory report. "We evaluate the market equilibrium in terms of consumer welfare and social welfare. The consumer welfare criterion suggests that in the market equilibrium consumers in fact purchase too much health insurance coverage," wrote B.U. Wigger and colleagues, University of Erlangen. The researchers concluded: "The social welfare criterion, in contrast, suggests that because profits of the healthcare industry are properly accounted for, consumers should purchase more insurance coverage than they choose to do in the market equilibrium." Wigger and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Public Economic Theory (Do consumers purchase too much health insurance? The role of market power in health-care markets Journal of Public Economic Theory, 2007;9(3):547-561). Additional information can be obtained by contacting B.U. Wigger, University of Erlangen Nurnberg, D-8520 Erlangen, Germany. The publisher of the Journal of Public Economic Theory can be contacted at: Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Rd., Oxford OX4 2DQ, Oxon, England. Keywords: Germany, Erlangen, Health Insurance, University of Erlangen. This article was prepared by Managed Care Weekly Digest editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Managed Care Weekly Digest via NewsRx.com.
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