This paper examines recent trends in self-insurance. Data come from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and are presented by establishment size among only private-sector employers. State-level data are also presented. In 2013, 37.6 percent of private-sector establishments self-insured at...

This paper examines public opinion surrounding employment-based health coverage. It uses data from the 2013 and 2014 Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey (WBS), conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald & Associates, as well as historical data from the...

In December 2015 Congress enacted a two-year delay in the controversial excise tax on high-cost health plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), postponing its effective date from 2018 to 2020 and making a number of other modest changes to the tax. Nevertheless, the tax remains wildly unpopular...

This paper examines whether offering a health savings account (HSA)-eligible health plan for free, alongside other health plan options with a premium, alters employee enrollment choices; and if responders differ by health status. The data for this study come from two large employers and cover...

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 introduced a refundable tax credit for low-income working families who purchased health insurance coverage for their children. This health insurance tax credit (HITC) existed during tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993, and was then rescinded. We use...

This paper reviews recent trends in coverage for workers by hours worked and firm size. It examines data from the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent Current Population Survey. It examines trends in coverage for workers employed full time, 30-39 hours, and fewer than 30 hours. The Patient...

Over the past few decades, policy makers have considered employer mandates as a strategy for stemming the tide of declining health insurance coverage. In this paper we examine the long term effects of the only employer health insurance mandate that has ever been enforced in the United States,...

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 introduced a refundable tax credit for low-income working families who purchased health insurance coverage for their children. This health insurance tax credit (HITC) existed during tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993, and was then rescinded. We use...

We estimate the effect of employer offers of retiree health benefits (RHBs) on the timing of retirement using a sample of Health and Retirement Study (HRS) men observed over a period of up to 12 years. We hypothesize that the effect of RHBs differs for workers of different ages - a hypothesis we...

Despite a strong interest in entrepreneurship, economists have devoted little attention to the role of health insurance availability. I investigate the impact of a unique policy experiment - New Jersey’s Individual Health Coverage Plan - on self-employment. Implemented in August 1993, the IHCP...