Skip to main content
PMC home page
Health Services Research logoLink to Health Services Research
. 2001 Oct;36(5):911–934.

Preference diversity and the breadth of employee health insurance options.

J R Moran 1, M E Chernew 1, R A Hirth 1
PMCID: PMC1089267  PMID: 11666110

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of worker heterogeneity, firm size, and establishment size on the breadth of employer health insurance offerings. DATA SOURCES: The data were drawn from the 1993 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Employer Health Insurance Survey of 22,000 business establishments selected randomly from ten states. STUDY DESIGN: The analysis was cross-sectional, using ordered probit models to relate the breadth of plan offerings to firm characteristics. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Firms with more diverse workforces offered a more diverse set of health insurance options. Firm and establishment size independently influenced the breadth of plan offerings. CONCLUSIONS: Employers are responsive to worker heterogeneity when determining the breadth of their health insurance offerings. However, diseconomies of scale in the purchase and administration of health insurance appear to limit the extent to which small employers can accommodate diverse worker preferences.

Full text

PDF
932

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Buchmueller T. C. Managed competition in California's small-group insurance market. Health Aff (Millwood) 1997 Mar-Apr;16(2):218–228. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.16.2.218. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cantor J. C., Long S. H., Marquis M. S. Private employment-based health insurance in ten states. Health Aff (Millwood) 1995 Summer;14(2):199–211. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.14.2.199. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dickey N. W., Tretter R. C. Head to head. Should employer-based coverage end? Discussion. Bus Health. 1998 Aug;16(8):57–58. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Marquis M. S., Long S. H. Worker demand for health insurance in the non-group market. J Health Econ. 1995 May;14(1):47–63. doi: 10.1016/0167-6296(94)00035-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. McLaughlin C. G., Zellers W. K. The shortcomings of voluntarism in the small-group insurance market. Health Aff (Millwood) 1992 Summer;11(2):28–40. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.11.2.28. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Morrisey M. A., Jensen G. A., Morlock R. J. Small employers and the health insurance market. Health Aff (Millwood) 1994 Winter;13(5):149–161. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.13.5.149. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Morrisey M. A., Jensen G. A. Switching to managed care in the small employer market. Inquiry. 1997 Fall;34(3):237–248. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Peele P. B., Lave J. R., Black J. T., Evans J. H., 3rd Employer-sponsored health insurance: are employers good agents for their employees? Milbank Q. 2000;78(1):5-21, i. doi: 10.1111/1468-0009.00159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Health Services Research are provided here courtesy of Health Research & Educational Trust

RESOURCES