Racial Wealth Inequality and Access to Care with High-Deductible Health Insurance

Naomi Zewde

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2024, vol. 114, 180-85

Abstract: This paper evaluates racial inequalities in health-care affordability between high-deductible and conventional insurance. Using the 2011–2017 National Health Interview Survey, the study finds that Blacks in high-deductible plans are not disproportionately higher income, nor more engaged in other savings vehicles, unlike their White counterparts, indicating they may be income constrained rather than desiring to partially self-insure. Furthermore, conditional on income, wealth explained more of the racial disparity in health-care access among high-deductible enrollees than conventional enrollees, consistent with the hypothesis that benefit designs relying on households' cash reserves would yield greater disparities due to the magnitude of racial inequalities in assets.

JEL-codes: D31 G22 G51 I13 I14 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aea:apandp:v:114:y:2024:p:180-85

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DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20241104

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