IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iae/iaewps/wp2004n20.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Effects of Recent Carrot-and-Stick Policy Initiatives on Private Health Insurance Coverage in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Alfons Palangkaraya

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne)

  • Jongsay Yong

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne)

Abstract

The Australian government implemented a sequence of new policy initiatives during 1997{2000 with a stated aim of raising the take-up rate of private health insurance (PHI). Taken together, it is quite clear that these new policy initiatives were effective. The overall proportion of Australian population with private health insurance cover increased by more than 35%. However, much less clear is the effctiveness of different components of the policies. This lacks of clarity results from the sequential implementation those policies. Because of the potentially large cost differences in their implementation, a better understanding of the each policy's effects can be valuable for future policymaking. This paper attempts to isolate the effects of those different policies using the 1995 and 2001 National Health Survey data. These two datasets allow the estimation of private health insurance demands before and after the policy changes. Consequently, they also allow for a counterfactual analysis of what would have happened had there been no new policies. Combined with the age-specific aspect Lifetime Health Cover (LHC), the counterfactual analysis indicates that the effects of LHC fall between 42% and 75% of the overall increase in PHI membership.

Suggested Citation

  • Alfons Palangkaraya & Jongsay Yong, 2004. "Effects of Recent Carrot-and-Stick Policy Initiatives on Private Health Insurance Coverage in Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2004n20, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2004n20
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/working_paper_series/wp2004n20.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ángel Marcos Vera‐Hernández, 1999. "Duplicate coverage and demand for health care. The case of Catalonia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 8(7), pages 579-598, November.
    2. Alfons Palangkaraya & Jongsay Yong, 2007. "How effective is “lifetime health cover” in raising private health insurance coverage in Australia? An assessment using regression discontinuity," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(11), pages 1361-1374.
    3. H.E. Frech Iii & Sandra Hopkins & Garry Macdonald, 2003. "The Australian Private Health Insurance Boom: Was It Subsidies Or Liberalised Regulation?," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 22(1), pages 58-64, March.
    4. Fairlie, Robert W., 2003. "An Extension of the Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition Technique to Logit and Probit Models," Center Discussion Papers 28425, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    5. Cameron, A. Colin & Trivedi, Pravin K., 1991. "The role of income and health risk in the choice of health insurance : Evidence from Australia," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 1-28, June.
    6. Garry F. Barrett & Robert Conlon, 2003. "Adverse Selection and the Decline in Private Health Insurance Coverage in Australia: 1989–95," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 79(246), pages 279-296, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stephanie Knox & Elizabeth Savage & Denzil Fiebig & Vineta Salale, 2007. "Joiners, leavers, stayers and abstainers: Private health insurance choices in Australia, CHERE Working Paper 2007/8," Working Papers 2007/8, CHERE, University of Technology, Sydney.
    2. Vijaya Sundararajan & Ou Yang & Jongsay Yong, 2023. "Socioeconomic status and access to care in a universal healthcare system: The case of acute myocardial infarction in Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2023n10, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    3. Nathan Kettlewell, 2019. "Utilization and Selection in an Ancillaries Health Insurance Market," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 86(4), pages 989-1017, December.
    4. Jongsay Yong & Alfons Palangkaraya & Elizabeth Webster & Peter Dawkins, 2006. "The Income Distributive Implications of Recent Private Health Insurance Policies in Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2006n02, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    5. Denise Doiron & Nathan Kettlewell, 2020. "Family formation and the demand for health insurance," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 523-533, April.
    6. Ha Trong Nguyen & Huong Thu Le & Luke Connelly & Francis Mitrou, 2023. "Accuracy of self‐reported private health insurance coverage," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(12), pages 2709-2729, December.
    7. Kettlewell, Nathan & Zhang, Yuting, 2024. "Financial incentives and private health insurance demand on the extensive and intensive margins," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    8. Alfons Palangkaraya & Jongsay Yong & Elizabeth Webster & Peter Dawkins, 2009. "The income distributive implications of recent private health insurance policy reforms in Australia," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 10(2), pages 135-148, May.
    9. Randall Ellis & Elizabeth Savage, 2008. "Run for cover now or later? The impact of premiums, threats and deadlines on private health insurance in Australia," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 257-277, December.
    10. Kettlewell, Nathan & Zhang, Yuting, 2023. "Financial Incentives and Private Health Insurance Demand on the Extensive and Intensive Margins," IZA Discussion Papers 16248, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Denise Doiron & Nathan Kettlewell, 2018. "The Effect of Health Insurance on the Substitution between Public and Private Hospital Care," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 94(305), pages 135-154, June.
    12. Moorin, Rachael Elizabeth & Holman, Cashel D'Arcy James, 2007. "Modelling changes in the determinants of PHI utilisation in Western Australia across five health care policy eras between 1981 and 2001," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(2-3), pages 183-194, May.
    13. Gong, Xiaodong & Gao, Jiti, 2015. "Nonparametric Kernel Estimation of the Impact of Tax Policy on the Demand for Private Health Insurance in Australia," IZA Discussion Papers 9265, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Nathan Kettlewell & Yuting Zhang, 2024. "Age penalties and take‐up of private health insurance," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 636-651, April.
    15. Moorin, Rachael Elizabeth & Holman, Cashel D'Arcy James, 2008. "The cost of in-patient care in Western Australia in the last years of life: A population-based data linkage study," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 380-390, March.
    16. Sundararajan, Vijaya & Yang, Ou & Yong, Jongsay, 2023. "Socioeconomic status and access to care in a universal health care system: The case of acute myocardial infarction in Australia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 1-25.
    17. Judith Liu & Yuting Zhang, 2023. "Elderly responses to private health insurance incentives: Evidence from Australia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(12), pages 2730-2744, December.
    18. Roger Carrington & Tim Coelli & D.S. Prasada Rao, 2011. "Australian Private Health Insurance Productivity Growth: Is there Scope to Limit Premium Increases?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 87(276), pages 125-139, March.
    19. Ou Yang & Jongsay Yong & Yuting Zhang, 2024. "Effects of private health insurance on waiting time in public hospitals," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(6), pages 1192-1210, June.
    20. Yicheng Kang & Xiaodong Gong & Jiti Gao & Peihua Qiu, 2016. "Error-in-Variables Jump Regression Using Local Clustering," Monash Econometrics and Business Statistics Working Papers 13/16, Monash University, Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics.
    21. Alex Robson & Henry Ergas & Francesco Paolucci, 2011. "The Analytics of the Australian Private Health Insurance Rebate and the Medicare Levy Surcharge," Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics, vol. 18(2), pages 27-48.
    22. Keegan, Conor, 2020. "The introduction of lifetime community rating in the Irish private health insurance market: Effects on coverage and plan choice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    23. Buchmueller, Thomas C. & Cheng, Terence C. & Pham, Ngoc T.A. & Staub, Kevin E., 2021. "The effect of income-based mandates on the demand for private hospital insurance and its dynamics," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    24. Thomas Buchmueller, 2008. "Community Rating, Entry-Age Rating and Adverse Selection in Private Health Insurance in Australia*," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 33(4), pages 588-609, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thomas Buchmueller, 2008. "Community Rating, Entry-Age Rating and Adverse Selection in Private Health Insurance in Australia*," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 33(4), pages 588-609, October.
    2. Keegan, Conor, 2020. "The introduction of lifetime community rating in the Irish private health insurance market: Effects on coverage and plan choice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    3. Cheng, Terence Chai, 2014. "Measuring the effects of reducing subsidies for private insurance on public expenditure for health care," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 159-179.
    4. Alex Robson & Henry Ergas & Francesco Paolucci, 2011. "The Analytics of the Australian Private Health Insurance Rebate and the Medicare Levy Surcharge," Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics, vol. 18(2), pages 27-48.
    5. Judith Liu & Yuting Zhang, 2023. "Elderly responses to private health insurance incentives: Evidence from Australia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(12), pages 2730-2744, December.
    6. Sandra Hopkins & Michael P. Kidd & Aydogan Ulker, 2013. "Private Health Insurance Status and Utilisation of Dental Services in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89(285), pages 194-206, June.
    7. Jongsay Yong & Alfons Palangkaraya, 2004. "Discerning the Effects of Recent Private Health Insurance Policy Changes in Australia," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 183, Econometric Society.
    8. López Nicolás, Ángel & Vera-Hernández, Marcos, 2008. "Are tax subsidies for private medical insurance self-financing? Evidence from a microsimulation model," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1285-1298, September.
    9. Terence Chai Cheng, 2011. "Measuring the Effects of Removing Subsidies for Private Insurance on Public Expenditure for Health Care," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2011n26, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    10. Preety Srivastava & Gang Chen & Anthony Harris, 2017. "Oral Health, Dental Insurance and Dental Service use in Australia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 35-53, January.
    11. Alfons Palangkaraya & Jongsay Yong & Elizabeth Webster & Peter Dawkins, 2009. "The income distributive implications of recent private health insurance policy reforms in Australia," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 10(2), pages 135-148, May.
    12. LIU Yang & HAGIWARA Risa, 2023. "Female Labor Force Participation in Japan: An epidemiological approach using native and immigrant data," Discussion papers 23023, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    13. repec:diw:diwwpp:dp656 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Brian E. Whitacre & Bradford F. Mills, 2007. "Infrastructure and the Rural—urban Divide in High-speed Residential Internet Access," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 30(3), pages 249-273, July.
    15. Bhaumik, Sumon Kumar & Gang, Ira N. & Yun, Myeong-Su, 2006. "Ethnic conflict and economic disparity: Serbians and Albanians in Kosovo," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 754-773, December.
    16. Stephan Klasen & Janneke Pieters, 2015. "What Explains the Stagnation of Female Labor Force Participation in Urban India?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 29(3), pages 449-478.
    17. Pylypchuk, Yuriy & Selden, Thomas M., 2008. "A discrete choice decomposition analysis of racial and ethnic differences in children's health insurance coverage," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 1109-1128, July.
    18. Jenni Blomgren & Lauri J Virta, 2020. "Socioeconomic differences in use of public, occupational and private health care: A register-linkage study of a working-age population in Finland," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, April.
    19. Catherine Bros, 2009. "Social Fragmentation and Public Goods Revisiting the Olson's Effect in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 09058, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    20. H. E. Frech & Peter Zweifel, 2017. "Market Socialism and Community Rating in Health Insurance," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 59(3), pages 405-427, September.
    21. Bijwaard, G.E. & Veenman, J., 2007. "Unequal changes on the transitional labour market, the case of the Netherlands," Econometric Institute Research Papers EI 2007-27, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), Econometric Institute.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2004n20. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sheri Carnegie (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/mimelau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.