drug substitution and competition. Since 2006, Germany follows an innovative approach by differentiating drug co … potential reductions in co-payments. We refer to the latter result as the "co-payment exemption paradox." Our competition proxy …-payments ; reference pricing ; regulation ; firm behavior …

pharmaceuticals on competition by parallel imports. First, I analyze the effect of a manufacturer rebate on competition by parallel … data set with prescription drugs with competition from parallel imports, I estimate the effect of the change in the … manufacturer rebate on competition by parallel imports. Estimation results suggest that an increase in the manufacturer rebate has …

This paper investigates competition between health insurance companies under different financing regulations. We … consider two alternatives advanced in recent German health care reform discussions: competition by contribution rates (health … contributions) and by fees (health premia). We find that contribution rate competition yields lower company profits and higher …

Many health economists demand more competition in the health care system. They focus on the competition between … sickness funds for insured and the competition between health care providers for contracts with sickness funds. But they … neglect the competition between health care providers for patients which is crucial for medical quality. This third field of …