T HREE out of every 4 persons aged 65 and over in the United States receive either old-age and survivors insurance benefits or old-age assistance payments, or both. For this reason the socio-economic characteristics of aged insurance beneficiaries and assistance recipients under these social security programs have an important bearing on planning for the security of the aged. Findings of the na...

This analysis compares access to affordable health care across U.S. states after the first year of the Affordable Care Act’s major coverage expansions. It finds that in 2014, unin­sured rates for working-age adults declined in nearly every state compared with 2013. There was at least a three-percentage-point decline in 39 states. For children, uninsured rates declined by at least two percentage...

our argument. The readiness of reproduction being equated with differentiation and market elasticity are loosely stated principles of economics, not the definition of commodity. Reducing medical care to the status of a commodity, the objection we find in boutique medicine, makes the practice of medicine a purely commercial transaction. Whether that transaction involves a differentiated or undif...

OBJECTIVE This article reports the experiences of health plans, providers, and consumers with California's mental health parity law and discusses implications for implementation of the 2008 federal parity law. METHODS This study used a multimodal data collection approach to assess the first five years of California's parity implementation (from 2000 to 2005). Telephone interviews were conduct...

Everyone knows that America’s economy is in trouble. How is this affecting dentistry? Many practices are experiencing more open time, a record number of broken appointments and less production as Americans tighten their purse strings. Some practices are closing their doors and there are dentists looking to work additional days in busier practices. People are losing jobs and insurance benefits a...

This study focused on the adoption of Web-based applications in the insurance industry. An indepth investigation of relevant literature on the technology adoption process and related issues, and the data collected from auto and life insurance companies identified several factors that affect e-insurance performance (in terms of both tangible and intangible benefits). Web site availability, organ...

Many small employers (between two and 50 workers) are making decisions about whether to offer health benefits to their workers without being fully aware of the tax advantages that can make this benefit more affordable. Fifty-seven percent of small employers did not know that they can deduct 100 percent of their health insurance premiums. Nearly one-half of small employers are not aware that wor...

INTRODUCTION Disease conditions such as end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which have severe consequences of disability and mortality, can generate substantial costs for large employers providing life insurance and disability insurance benefits. This study is the first to examine such disease-related nonmedical costs for employers and models the following employer-paid costs for ESRD in patients w...