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Incentives for voluntary health insurance in a national health system: Evidence from Italy

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  • Marenzi, Anna
  • Rizzi, Dino
  • Zanette, Michele

Abstract

The paper evaluates the extent to which the government's policy to encourage the purchase of voluntary health insurance (VHI) may have led to income-related horizontal inequity in access to health care in a universal health care system (NHS).

Suggested Citation

  • Marenzi, Anna & Rizzi, Dino & Zanette, Michele, 2021. "Incentives for voluntary health insurance in a national health system: Evidence from Italy," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(6), pages 685-692.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:125:y:2021:i:6:p:685-692
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2021.03.007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Cinzia Di Novi & Anna Marenzi & Dino Rizzi, 2018. "Do healthcare tax credits help poor-health individuals on low incomes?," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 19(2), pages 293-307, March.
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    14. Gian Paolo Barbetta & Simone Pellegrino & Gilberto Turati, 2018. "What Explains the Redistribution Achieved by the Italian Personal Income Tax? Evidence from Administrative Data," Public Finance Review, , vol. 46(1), pages 7-28, January.
    15. Finkelstein, Amy, 2002. "The effect of tax subsidies to employer-provided supplementary health insurance: evidence from Canada," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 305-339, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Purcel, Alexandra-Anca & Dragos, Cristian Mihai & Mare, Codruța & Dragos, Simona Laura, 2023. "Voluntary health insurance and out-of-pocket payments in European OECD countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    2. Agovino, Massimiliano & Musella, Gaetano & Scaletti, Alessandro, 2022. "Equilibrium and efficiency in the first aid services market: The case of the emergency department of Sorrento," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PB).
    3. Cavazza, Marianna & Vecchio, Mario Del & Fattore, Giovanni & Fenech, Lorenzo, 2023. "Geographical variation in the use of private health insurance in a predominantly publicly-funded system," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    4. Brenna, Elenka & Giammanco, Maria Daniela, 2024. "The use of voluntary health insurance in the access to specialist care: Evidence from the Italian NHS," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    National Health Service; Voluntary Health Insurance; Tax incentives; Policy evaluation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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