Background Previous studies have mostly focused on socio-demographic and health-related determinants of health-related behaviors. Although comprehensive health insurance coverage could discourage individual lifestyle improvement due to the ex-ante moral hazard problem, few studies have examined such effects. This study examines the association of a comprehensive set of factors including socio-d...

With the 2012 election behind it and Speaker of the House stating that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) is the “law of the land,” the Obama Administration has pushed forward with health care reform by releasing new proposed regulations on November 20, 2012. The newly proposed regulations provide guidance on wellness program provisions under the PPACA, nondiscrimination f...

High-risk pools are State programs that were recently brought under Federal review by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). For a subsidized, yet above-standard premium, they provide coverage to individuals lacking access to private health insurance, typically due to pre-existing conditions. Reducing high-risk pool premiums in all States to the level prevailin...

BACKGROUND In the fragmented US health insurance system, women's health insurance coverage is an outcome both of changes in the availability of private and public health insurance and of changing patterns of labor force participation and household formation. Over the past 2 decades, women's socioeconomic circumstances have changed and public policy around health insurance coverage for low-incom...