May/June 2006
Health Affairs
, Vol. 25, No. 3
Jon R. Gabel, Roland McDevitt, Laura Gandolfo, Jeremy D. Pickreign, Samantha Hawkins, Cheryl Fahlman
This paper reports national and state findings on the generosity or actuarial value of U.S. employer-based plans and adjusted premiums in 2002. The basis for our calculations is simulated bill paying for a large standardized population. After adjusting for the quality of benefits, we find from regression analysis that adjusted premiums are 18 percent higher in the nation’s smallest firms than in firms with 1,000 or more workers. They are 25 percent higher in indemnity plans and 18 percent higher in preferred provider organizations than in health maintenance organizations. The generosity of coverage increased from 1997 to 2002.
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