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Do Small‐Group Health Insurance Regulations Influence Small Business Size?

Author

Listed:
  • Kanika Kapur
  • Pinar Karaca‐Mandic
  • Susan M. Gates
  • Brent Fulton

Abstract

The cost of health insurance has been the primary concern of small business owners for several decades. State small group health insurance reforms, implemented in the 1990s, aimed to control the variability of health insurance premiums and to improve access to health insurance. Small group reforms only affected firms within a specific size range, and the definition of the upper size threshold for small firms varied by state and over time. As a result, small group reforms may have affected the size of small firms around the legislative threshold and may also have affected the propensity of small firms to offer health insurance. Previous research has examined the second issue, finding little to no effect of health insurance reforms on the propensity of small firms to offer health insurance. In this paper, we examine the relationship between small group reform and firm size. We use data from a nationally representative repeated cross-section survey of employers and data on state small group health insurance reform. Contrary to the intent of the reform, we find evidence that small firms just below the regulatory threshold that were offering health insurance grew in order to bypass reforms.
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Suggested Citation

  • Kanika Kapur & Pinar Karaca‐Mandic & Susan M. Gates & Brent Fulton, 2012. "Do Small‐Group Health Insurance Regulations Influence Small Business Size?," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 79(1), pages 231-260, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jrinsu:v:79:y:2012:i:1:p:231-260
    DOI: j.1539-6975.2011.01421.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Srikant Devaraj & Pankaj C Patel, 2017. "Health insurance and employee productivity: Findings from the 2007 Survey of Business Owners," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 37(2), pages 1351-1364.
    2. C. J. Krizan & Adela Luque & Alice Zawacki, 2014. "The Effect Of Employer Health Insurance Offering On The Growth And Survival Of Small Business Prior To The Affordable Care Act," Working Papers 14-22, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

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