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Article: The effect of state mandates on health insurance premiums.(Report)
- Article from:
- Journal of Private Enterprise
- Article date:
- March 22, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Association of Private Enterprise Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I. Introduction
State health insurance mandates require insurers to offer policy holders coverage for specified benefits, providers, or patient populations (Bunce, Wieske, and Prikazsky, 2004). Although some individuals may benefit from additional coverage, mandated benefits are not costless. The costs of mandates are borne by both the insurance companies and the insured, and these costs are reflected in insurance premiums. A better understanding of how mandates affect costs may lead to more informed policy decisions.
The recent availability of premium data from sources such as ehealthinsurance.com makes it easier to study the effects of state mandates ...