The Role of Agents and Brokers in the Market for Health Insurance / Pinar Karaca-Mandic, Roger Feldman, Peter Graven.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Karaca-Mandic, Pinar.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Feldman, Roger.

Graven, Peter.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w19342.

NBER working paper series no. w19342

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2013.

Summary:

Health insurance markets in the United States are characterized by imperfect information, complex products, and substantial search frictions. Insurance agents and brokers play a significant role in helping employers navigate these problems. However, little is known about the relation between the structure of the agent/broker market and access and affordability of insurance. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the influence of agents/brokers on health insurance decisions of small firms, which are particularly vulnerable to problems of financing health insurance. Using a unique membership database from the National Association of Health Underwriters together with a nationally representative survey of employers, we find that small firms in more competitive agent/broker markets are more likely to offer health insurance and at lower premiums. Moreover, premiums are less dispersed in more competitive agent/broker markets.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2013.