 The impact of premium subsidies on health plan choices in Switzerland: Who responds to the incentives set by in-kind as opposed to cash transfers?Shalvaree Vaidya Health Policy, 2021, vol. 125, issue 6, 675-684 Abstract: Mandatory health insurance in Switzerland operates on a community-based premium scheme. This can lead to a high financial burden on lower income individuals. Until 2014, premium subsidies were paid as cash transfer or in-kind transfer, providing different incentives to individuals for choosing their health plans. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, the impact of in-kind subsidy transfers on deductible choice and the choice of a cost-saving health plan was evaluated to understand effect heterogeneity based on individual background characteristics. The results indicate that eligible individuals from in-kind transfer cantons in general are incentivized to choose a low deductible plan compared to eligible individuals from cash transfer cantons. This effect is found strongest among female, middle-aged and healthy individuals who have most flexibility in adjusting their health plan choices in response to the financial incentives. Additionally, eligible individuals are less likely to choose a cost-saving health plan compared to a cash transfer canton. Date: 2021 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:125:y:2021:i:6:p:675-684 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2021.03.008 Access Statistics for this article Health Policy is currently edited by Katrien Kesteloot, Mia Defever and Irina Cleemput More articles in Health Policy from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.