The Evolution of Health Insurer Costs in Massachusetts, 2010–2012

Kate Ho, Ariel Pakes, Mark Shepard

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

We analyze the evolution of health insurer costs in Massachusetts between 2010 and 2012, paying particular attention to changes in the composition of enrollees. This was a period in which Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) increasingly used physician cost control incentives but Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) did not. We show that cost growth and its components cannot be understood without accounting for (1) consumers’ switching between plans, and (2) differences in cost characteristics between new entrants and those leaving the market. New entrants are markedly less costly than those leaving (and their costs fall after their entering year), so cost growth of continuing enrollees in a plan is significantly higher than average per-member cost growth. Relatively high-cost HMO members switch to PPOs while low-cost PPO members switch to HMOs, so the impact of cost control incentives on HMO costs is likely different from their impact on market-wide insurer costs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)117-137
Number of pages21
JournalReview of Industrial Organization
Volume53
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2018
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Management of Technology and Innovation
  • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
  • Strategy and Management

Keywords

  • Health care spending
  • Health insurance
  • Medical costs

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