Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableAge penalties and take-up of private health insurance(Melbourne Institute, 2021-12-01)Penalty mandates are used in many countries to encourage people to purchase health insurance. But are they effective? We use a large administrative dataset for a 10% random sample of all Australian tax-filers to study how people respond to a step-wise age-based mandate, and whether this has changed over time. The mandate creates discontinuities in the incentive to insure by age, which we exploit to estimate causal effects. People who do not insure before the penalty dates face higher premiums in the future, which should encourage them to bring forward purchases. We find that people respond as expected to the initial age-penalty, but not to subsequent penalties. The 2% premium loading results in a 1-4% increase in take-up, with effects increasing after an annual government letter campaign that reminds people approaching the penalty deadline about the policy. We discuss the impact of the mandate on the overall efficiency of the market, and implications of potential reforms.
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ItemWho is avoiding necessary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic?(Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, 2020-06-01)Australians experiencing high levels of financial stress and mental distress are not seeking needed health care. This study looks into what policies could help encourage greater use of necessary health care to improve wellbeing and avoid more expensive care later on.
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ItemUsing health care during the pandemic: should I stay or should I go?(Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, 2020-09-01)The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant financial and mental distress for many Australians, which according to results from Taking the Pulse of the Nation in early June, has caused some to avoid visiting a health care professional when needed. As the pandemic continues, are people still delaying seeing a doctor or has their been a resurgence in visits after people delayed their care earlier in the year? In this Research Insight, Professor Yuting Zhang, Dr. Judith Liu, and Professor Anthony Scott examine Australians' use of health care and telehealth, focusing on what changes have occured since early June. To understand how COVID-19 has impacted decision-making around seeing a health care professional, data from Taking the Pulse of the Nation have been used to see who has avoided seeing a doctor, who has sought health care, and who has used telehealth.
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ItemWho is ditching private health insurance during the pandemic?(Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, 2020-11-01)Following the recent increase in private health insurance (PHI) premiums in October, as well as people's growing financial and mental stresses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Australians may be wondering whether they should drop or downgrade their PHI. In this Research Insight, authors Professor Yuting Zhang, Dr Judith Liu, and Professor Anthony Scott examine how Australians have changed their PHI memberships during the pandemic. Using data from the Melbourne Institute's Taking the Pulse of the Nation survey, they look specifically at who has dropped, downgraded or upgraded their PHI since March 2020.