The Complex Role of Age in Employer-Mandated Health Insurance

Decisions about how to use an individual's age are particularly important under the Oregon Health Plan's pending employer mandate. This article summarizes the relationships between age and other important variables that impact health policy decisions, including a review of the legality of using age as a rating factor, a review of the literature on specific relationships to age, and a discussion of the issue of age-banding as it relates to an employer mandate model for health reform. Also discussed is the implication of existing law and its lack of a requirement that employees purchase the health insurance their employer will be required to offer. The article concludes with a preliminary analysis of the cost implications of decisions about using age in health policy.