Job-based health insurance in 2001: Inflation hits double digits, managed care retreats

Health Affairs

Volumn 20, Issue 5, 2001, Pages 180-186

  Gabel, Jon ^a   Levitt, Larry ^b   Pickreign, Jeremy ^a   Whitmore, Heidi ^a   Holve, Erin ^b   Rowland, Diane ^b   Dhont, Kelley ^a   Hawkins, Samantha ^a  

^a Health Research and Educational Trust   (United States)

^b HENRY J KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; COST; ECONOMIC ASPECT; ECONOMICS; HEALTH CARE COST; HEALTH INSURANCE; HUMAN; INSURANCE; PENSION; UNITED STATES;

COST SHARING; EMPLOYER HEALTH COSTS; HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS, EMPLOYEE; HUMANS; INFLATION, ECONOMIC; INSURANCE BENEFITS; INSURANCE COVERAGE; MANAGED CARE PROGRAMS; PENSIONS; UNITED STATES;

EID: 0344321544     PISSN: 02782715     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.20.5.180     Document Type: Article

References (13)

1. J. Gabel et al., "Job-Based Health Insurance in 2000: Premiums Rise Sharply While Coverage Grows," Health Affairs (Sep/Oct 2000): 144-151.
2. Unpublished estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, from Paul Fronstin, Employee Benefit Research Institute.
3. P. Fronstin, The Working Uninsured: Who They Are, How They Hove Changed, and the Consequences of Being Uninsured, EBRI Issue Brief no. 224 (Washington: EBRI, August 2000).
4. Although the initial request is to interview the employee benefit manager or individual "most responsible about your health plan," in the case of large employers the interviewee may be an employee assigned to respond to the survey by the benefit manager. For small firms, the benefit manager may be an owner or an office manager with the responsibility for overseeing benefits.
5. Similar to other years, the sample includes firms from previous years' samples (a historical panel of firms) and firms interviewed for the first time. Each firm is assigned a sample weight based on the inverse probability of its inclusion.
6. The response rate for this one question was 71 percent.
7. KPMG Peat Marwick, Health Benefits in 1992 (Montvale, N.J.: KPMG, 1992).
8. Differences by plan size are statistically significant (p < .05). Differences between PPO and POS plans are significantly different, but other two-way comparisons are not.
9. C. Hogan, P. Ginsburg, and J. Gabel, "Tracking Health Care Costs: Inflation Returns," Health Affairs (Nov/Dec 2000): 217-223.
10. Hewitt Associates, Retiree Health Trends and Implications of Possible Medicare Reforms, Report prepared for the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (Menlo Park, Calif.: Kaiser Family Foundation, 1997).
11. C. Lesser and P. Ginsburg, Back to the Future? New Cost and Access Challenges Emerge, Issue Brief no. 35 (Washington: Center for Studying Health System Change, February 2001).
12. Ibid.
13. Defined contribution is most strictly defined as giving cash to employees so they can purchase health insurance themselves. More recently, many companies think of defined contribution as a program where the employer contributes a fixed amount to each employee eligible for health coverage. The employee may use these dollars to select among a limited number of health benefit options.