Version 1
: Received: 29 June 2018 / Approved: 29 June 2018 / Online: 29 June 2018 (16:10:38 CEST)
How to cite:
Niankara, I. The Determinants of Optional Insurance Coverage with FlexibleSpending Accounts in Post-Affordable Care Act-USA. Preprints2018, 2018060494 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201806.0494.v1).
Niankara, I. The Determinants of Optional Insurance Coverage with FlexibleSpending Accounts in Post-Affordable Care Act-USA. Preprints 2018, 2018060494 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201806.0494.v1).
Cite as:
Niankara, I. The Determinants of Optional Insurance Coverage with FlexibleSpending Accounts in Post-Affordable Care Act-USA. Preprints2018, 2018060494 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201806.0494.v1).
Niankara, I. The Determinants of Optional Insurance Coverage with FlexibleSpending Accounts in Post-Affordable Care Act-USA. Preprints 2018, 2018060494 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201806.0494.v1).
Abstract
Motivated by the theoretical model of health insurance choice with Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) presented in Cardon 2012, this study investigates the determinants of optional coverage (SSP) and flexible spending accounts (FSA) enrollment, among the privately insured in post-affordable-care-act (ACA) USA. To this end, we rely on semi-parametric bi-variate probit methods, along with a pooled cross-section of the 2015-2016 National Health Interview Surveys. As predicted by the theoretical model, we find that SSP and FSA are complement health solutions with a positive correlation. Our results emphasize that the most important trigger factors influencing the joint probability of SSP and FSA adoption include not only insurance premium cost, but also age, education, marital status, number of work hours, region of residency, citizenship status, and annual health expenditure level. We find that controlling for these latter factors, health status is not significant especially for FSA adoption. In addition, despite the fact that the relative frequency of individuals with FSA rises with increasing levels of medical expenditure, ACA restrictions on FSA tax exclusion to an annual adjusted maximum of $2600 (in 2017 $s) seems to adversely burden individuals with greater medical expenditure, thereby reducing their likelihood of FSA enrollment in post-ACA USA. Understanding these factors is very crucial to US health care market's stakeholders, including insurance companies, firms looking to design their health insurance offerings, but also policy-makers interested in providing new tailored health solutions for reducing health risks.
A ordable Care Act, Flexible Spending Accounts, Insurance Coverage, Multiple Service Plans
Subject
SOCIAL SCIENCES, Microeconomics and Decision Sciences
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
