We study age-rating restrictions in the health insurance marketplaces introduced by the Affordable Care Act. Because most buyers are subsidized, although age-rating restrictions affect pre-subsidy premiums, participation is primarily driven by subsidy generosity rather than pricing decisions....

During each annual election period, from November 15 to December 31, individuals enrolled in valid Medicare prescription drug plans (PDPs) can switch to another plan. Those who are eligible for Medicare Part D but are not enrolled can also register. The number of PDPs available increased 31...

This paper examines some of the flaws in Medicare's pricing system and considers some potential fixes. As currently structured, Medicare's reimbursement system stifles incentives to seek lower prices. Prices are recommended by provider groups and centrally administered. With what amounts to an...

Despite promises that Medicare would not interfere with patients' ability to choose their physician and to purchase additional health coverage on the open market, over the decades Medicare rules and regulations have gradually eroded senior citizens' ability to control their healthcare choices....

This paper shows how in Medicare Part D insurers' gaming of the subsidy paid to low-income enrollees distorts premiums and raises the program cost. Using plan-level data from the first five years of the program, I find multiple instances of pricing strategy distortions for the largest insurers....

In the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Congress assumed that the private insurance sector will continue to underwrite health risks for most of the non-elderly population. But nothing requires private insurers to continue to do so. To the contrary, the burdensome nature of the ACA's provisions is...

I estimate demand for health insurance using consumer-level data from the California and Washington ACA exchanges. I use the demand estimates to simulate the impact of policies targeting adverse selection, including subsidies and the individual mandate. I find (1) own-premium elasticities of...

In December 2020, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a comprehensive report analyzing the costs of a single-payer healthcare system of the kind usually referred to as “Medicare for All” (M4A). The report has not yet received as much public attention as it deserves, most likely...

Capitation payment models have been increasingly adopted by the payers in the U.S. healthcare market during the past decade. However, healthcare services provided in Medicare Advantage (MA), the largest capitation program in the U.S., have been suggested to be more appealing to healthier...

This document provides details on the data and methods used to construct the estimates in the policy brief ‘Reducing Medicare Advantage Overpayments’, released by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget on February 23, 2021