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Ignoring small predictable profits and losses: a new approach for measuring incentives for cream skimming

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  • Erik van Barneveld
  • Leida Lamers
  • René van Vliet
  • Wynand van de Ven

Abstract

Under inadequate capitation formulae competing health insurers have an incentive for cream skimming, i.e., the selection of enrollees whom the insurer expects to be profitable. When evaluating different capitation formulae, previous studies used various indicators of incentives for cream skimming. These conventional indicators are based on all actual profits and losses or on all predictable profits and losses. For the latter type of indicators, this paper proposes, as a new approach, to ignore the small predictable profits and losses. We assume that this new approach provides a better indication of the size of the cream skimming problem than the conventional one, because an insurer has to take into account its costs of cream skimming and the (statistical) uncertainties about the net benefits of cream skimming. Both approaches are applied in theoretical and empirical analyses. The results show that, if our assumption is right, the problem of cream skimming is overestimated by the conventional ways of measuring incentives for cream skimming, especially in the case of relatively good capitation formulae. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2000

Suggested Citation

  • Erik van Barneveld & Leida Lamers & René van Vliet & Wynand van de Ven, 2000. "Ignoring small predictable profits and losses: a new approach for measuring incentives for cream skimming," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 131-140, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:hcarem:v:3:y:2000:i:2:p:131-140
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1019029004807
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    Cited by:

    1. Mathias Kifmann & Normann Lorenz, 2011. "Optimal cost reimbursement of health insurers to reduce risk selection," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(5), pages 532-552, May.
    2. Normann Lorenz, 2014. "Using quantile regression for optimal risk adjustment," Research Papers in Economics 2014-11, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    3. Yujing Shen & Randall P. Ellis, 2002. "How profitable is risk selection? A comparison of four risk adjustment models," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(2), pages 165-174, March.
    4. Barros, Pedro Pita, 2003. "Cream-skimming, incentives for efficiency and payment system," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 419-443, May.
    5. van de Ven, Wynand P. M. M. & Beck, Konstantin & Buchner, Florian & Chernichovsky, Dov & Gardiol, Lucien & Holly, Alberto & Lamers, Leida M. & Schokkaert, Erik & Shmueli, Amir & Spycher, Stephan & Van, 2003. "Risk adjustment and risk selection on the sickness fund insurance market in five European countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 75-98, July.
    6. Richard C. Kleef & Thomas G. McGuire & René C. J. A. Vliet & Wynand P. P. M. de Ven, 2017. "Improving risk equalization with constrained regression," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 18(9), pages 1137-1156, December.
    7. Beck, Konstantin & Trottmann, Maria & Zweifel, Peter, 2010. "Risk adjustment in health insurance and its long-term effectiveness," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 489-498, July.
    8. Jan Brosse & Mathias Kifmann, 2013. "Competition in Health Insurance and Premium Regulation," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 11(1), pages 21-26, 04.
    9. Dosis, Anastasios, 2019. "Optimal ex post risk adjustment in markets with adverse selection," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 52-59.
    10. World Bank, 2009. "Europe and Central Asia - Health insurance and competition," World Bank Publications - Reports 3064, The World Bank Group.
    11. van Barneveld, Erik M. & Lamers, Leida M. & van Vliet, Rene C. J. A. & van de Ven, Wynand P. M. M., 2001. "Risk sharing as a supplement to imperfect capitation: a tradeoff between selection and efficiency," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 147-168, March.
    12. Normann Lorenz, 2017. "Using Quantile and Asymmetric Least Squares Regression for Optimal Risk Adjustment," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 724-742, June.
    13. Jan Brosse & Mathias Kifmann, 2013. "Competition in Health Insurance and Premium Regulation," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 11(01), pages 21-26, April.
    14. repec:ces:ifodic:v:11:y:2013:i:1:p:19083487 is not listed on IDEAS

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