Impact of State Health Insurance Mandates on Self Insurance, 1997-2012
Presenters
Philip Cooper (CFACT), Ginger Jin (University of Maryland), and Kosali Simon (Indiana University)
Date/Location TBD
Abstract
This paper studies whether the recent proliferation of state mandated benefits laws (stipulating content in commercially sold plans) affects an employer’s decision to self insure health insurance products and thereby avoid state law, as allowed by ERISA legislation. There is very little empirical research in this area using recent data beyond descriptive studies. We use a rich data set of employers, the Medical Expenditure Survey Insurance Component from 1997-2012, to test our hypothesis. We find preliminary evidence suggesting that mandates have had no discernible effect on larger employers’ decisions to self insure, but that employers with fewer than 100 workers may have shown some responsiveness in this regard.