Working Paper: NBER ID: w15106
Authors: Anthony T. Lo Sasso; Lorens A. Helmchen; Robert Kaestner
Abstract: We use unique data from an insurer that exclusively offers high-deductible, "consumer-directed" health plans to identify the effect of plan features, notably the spending account, on health care spending. Our results show that the marginal dollar in the spending account is entirely spent on outpatient and pharmacy services. In contrast, inpatient and out-of-pocket spending were not responsive to the amount in the spending account. Our results represent the first plausibly causal estimates of the components of consumer-driven health plans on health spending. The magnitudes of the effects suggest important moral hazard consequences to higher spending account levels.
Keywords: Consumer-Directed Health Plans; Health Care Spending; Moral Hazard
JEL Codes: I11; I18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Spending account levels (H61) | Health care spending (H51) |
| Deductible (G52) | Total spending (H59) |
| Spending account levels (H61) | Outpatient and pharmacy spending (H51) |
| Spending account levels (H61) | Inpatient spending (H51) |