Working Paper: NBER ID: w31141
Authors: Marika Cabral; Colleen Carey; Jinyeong Son
Abstract: Many public programs let individuals choose between publicly provided benefits and a subsidized private alternative. We investigate the determinants of health insurance choice in Medicare—a setting with vast geographic variation in the share of individuals selecting the public option versus private alternative. We analyze insurance decisions among individuals who move to quantify the relative importance of individual-specific factors (such as preferences or income) and place-specific factors (such as local health insurance options) on insurance decisions. We find roughly 40% of the geographic variation in the share selecting private coverage is due to place-based factors, while the remainder is explained by individuals. Our findings highlight the importance of individual factors in these decisions and may inform discussions about the use of policy to address geographic disparities.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: H51; I11; I13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| geographic prevalence of MA (R12) | choice of MA coverage (I13) |
| individual preferences and income (D11) | choice of MA coverage (I13) |
| place-based factors (R32) | difference in MA enrollment (I18) |
| individual factors (D91) | difference in MA enrollment (I18) |
| individual preferences (D11) | variation in MA enrollment (I18) |