A great deal of the present concern regarding future use of genetic tests by insurers stems from a lack of knowledge of the basic tenets of private, voluntary insurance. For this reason, I would like to examine briefly some of the fundamental principles of insurance before directly addressing issues associated with genetic testing. Insurance is intended to provide financial protection against u...

Before 1971, all proposals for universal health insurance were based on private sector financing and administration. After 1971, universal health insurance plans relying on the private sector complicated efforts of the universal health insurance movement. To forge as broad a movement for universal health insurance as possible, it may be worthwhile for universal health insurance advocates of dif...

• Fourth annual survey: This Issue Brief presents findings from the 2008 EBRI Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey, which provides nationally representative data regarding the growth of account-based health plans and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and the impact of these plans and consumer engagement more generally on the behavior and attitudes of adults with private health insurance...

Data from the National Health Interview Survey. In 2007, 17.3% of persons under 65 years of age with private health insurance were enrolled in a high deductible health plan (HDHP), 4.5% were enrolled in a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP), and 14.8% were in a family with a flexible spending account for medical expenses (FSA); Persons with directly purchased private health insurance were more...

In Health Care Reform Now!, George Halvorson, who is the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Inc in Oakland, California, and CEO of HealthPartners in Minneapolis, calls for 2 major reforms of the US health care system: universal health care coverage for all citizens, including 46 million Americans who do not have health in...

Compared with other developed countries, the United States has an inefficient and expensive health care system with poor outcomes and many citizens who are denied access. Inefficiency is increased by the lack of an integrated system that could promote an optimal mix of personal medical care and population health measures. We advocate a health trust system to provide core medical benefits to eve...

Policymakers in countries around the world are faced with rising health care costs and are debating ways to reform health care to reduce expenditures. Estimates of price elasticity of expenditure are a key component for predicting expenditures under alternative policies. Using unique individual-level data compiled from administrative records from the Chilean private health insurance market, I e...

BACKGROUND Several stakeholders have undertaken initiatives to propose solutions towards a more sustainable health system and Spain, as an example of a European country affected by austerity measures, is looking for ways to cut healthcare budgets. METHODS The aim of this paper is to study the effect of private health insurance on health care utilization using the latest micro-data from the Eu...