Payment for Dialysis Services in the Individual Market

A health insurer's Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) is the share of premiums spent on medical claims, or the inverse markup over average claims cost. The Affordable Care Act introduced minimum MLR provisions for all health insurance sold in fully insured commercial markets, thereby capping insurer profit margins, but not levels. While intended to reduce premiums, we show this rule creates incentives to increase costs. Using variation created by the rule's introduction as a natural experiment, we find medical claims rose nearly one-for-one with distance below the regulatory threshold: 7 percent in the individual market and 2 percent in the group market. Premiums were unaffected. (JEL G22, H51, I13, I18)

Download Full-text

Optimal Powertrain Design through a Virtual Development Process

World Electric Vehicle Journal ◽

10.3390/wevj9010011 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 11 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hendrik Piechottka ◽

Ferit Küçükay ◽

Felix Kercher ◽

Michael Bargende

Keyword(s):

Decisive Role ◽

Pollutant Emission ◽

Customer Requirements ◽

Hybrid Powertrain ◽

Tool Chain ◽

Emission Regulations ◽

Market Requirements ◽

Individual Market ◽

The Individual ◽

Electrical Components

The ever more stringent global CO2 and pollutant emission regulations imply that the optimization of conventional powertrains can only provide partial reductions in fleet emissions. Vehicle manufacturers are therefore responding by increasing the electrification of their powertrain portfolios. This in turn, results in higher levels of electrification of the individual powertrain units. The increase in electric power leads to a comprehensive range of possible technologies—from 48 V mild hybrids to pure electric concepts. The powertrain topology and the configuration of the electrical components of a hybrid powertrain play a decisive role in determining the overall efficiency when considering the individual market requirements. Different hybrid functions as well as performance and customer requirements are determined from statutory cycles and in customer operation. A virtual development chain that is based on MATLAB/Simulink then represents the steps for the identification, configuration, and evaluation of new electrified powertrains. The tool chain presented supports powertrain development through automated conceptualization, design, and evaluation of powertrain systems and their components. The outcome of the entire tool chain is a robust concept decision for future powertrains. Using this methodical and reproducible approach, future electrified powertrain concepts are identified.

Download Full-text

Sizing Up the Individual Market for Health Insurance

Medical Care Research and Review ◽

10.1177/1077558713477206 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 70 (4) ◽

pp. 418-433 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jean M. Abraham ◽

Pinar Karaca-Mandic ◽

Michel Boudreaux

Keyword(s):

Health Insurance ◽

Individual Market ◽

The Individual

Download Full-text

Financial Performance of Health Insurers: State-Run Versus Federal-Run Exchanges

Medical Care Research and Review ◽

10.1177/1077558717697013 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 75 (3) ◽

pp. 384-393 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mark A. Hall ◽

Michael J. McCue ◽

Jennifer R. Palazzolo

Keyword(s):

Financial Performance ◽

Affordable Care Act ◽

First Year ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Administrative Costs ◽

Individual Market ◽

The Difference ◽

The Individual ◽

Financial Losses ◽

Health Insurers

Many insurers incurred financial losses in individual markets for health insurance during 2014, the first year of Affordable Care Act mandated changes. This analysis looks at key financial ratios of insurers to compare profitability in 2014 and 2013, identify factors driving financial performance, and contrast the financial performance of health insurers operating in state-run exchanges versus the federal exchange. Overall, the median loss of sampled insurers was −3.9%, no greater than their loss in 2013. Reduced administrative costs offset increases in medical losses. Insurers performed better in states with state-run exchanges than insurers in states using the federal exchange in 2014. Medical loss ratios are the underlying driver more than administrative costs in the difference in performance between states with federal versus state-run exchanges. Policy makers looking to improve the financial performance of the individual market should focus on features that differentiate the markets associated with state-run versus federal exchanges.

Download Full-text

SOME INTRANATIONAL EVIDENCE ON OUTPUT-INFLATION TRADE-OFFS

Macroeconomic Dynamics ◽

10.1017/s1365100599011037 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 187-203 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Gregory D. Hess ◽

Kwanho Shin

Keyword(s):

Aggregate Demand ◽

Relative Price ◽

New Keynesian ◽

Real Output ◽

Relative Prices ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Equilibrium Relationship ◽

Supply Relationship ◽

Individual Market ◽

The Individual

In a seminal paper, Robert E. Lucas, Jr. provided the theoretical relationship between aggregate demand and real output based on relative price confusion at the individual market level. Subsequently, an alternative New Keynesian aggregate supply relationship was derived and it was demonstrated that the two theories can be distinguished on the basis of how both the rate of inflation and the volatility of relative prices affect its slope. By emphasizing the first implication of New Keynesian theory, strong evidence was obtained supporting this model using international data. We also concentrate on the second difference between the two theories. We derive the individual market-level equilibrium relationship for the Lucas model, i.e., the disaggregate supply curve. We estimate the crucial parameters of the relationship between aggregate nominal demand shocks and real output using U.S. intranational state and industry data. We find that the Lucas model omits important New Keynesian features of the data.

Download Full-text

Sources of Success in California's Individual Marketplace under the Affordable Care Act

Journal of Health Politics Policy and Law ◽

10.1215/03616878-7530849 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 679-706

Author(s):

Petra W. Rasmussen ◽

Gerald F. Kominski

Keyword(s):

Affordable Care Act ◽

The United States ◽

Community Partners ◽

Early Adoption ◽

Individual Market ◽

The Affordable Care Act ◽

The Law ◽

The Stability ◽

The Individual ◽

Trump Administration

Abstract When passed in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became the greatest piece of health care reform in the United States since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. In the 9 years since its passage, the law has ushered in a drastic decrease in the number of uninsured Americans and has encouraged delivery system innovation. However, the ACA has not been uniformly embraced, and states differ in their implementation of the law and in their individual health insurance marketplace's successfulness. Furthermore, under the Trump administration the law's future and the stability of the individual market have been uncertain. Throughout, however, California has been a leader. Today, the state's marketplace, known as Covered California, offers comprehensive, standardized health plans to over 1.3 million consumers. California's success with the ACA is largely attributable to its historical receptiveness to health reform; its early adoption of the law; its decision to have Covered California operate as an active purchaser, help shape the plans sold through the marketplace, and design a consumer-friendly enrollment experience; its engagement with stakeholders and community partners to encourage enrollment; and Covered California's commitment to continually innovate, improve, and anticipate the needs of the individual market as the law moves forward.

Download Full-text

Brazil: Citrus Benchmarking

ASME 2003 Citrus Engineering Conference ◽

10.1115/cec2003-4901 ◽

2003 ◽

Author(s):

Alex Schuermans

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

New Technology ◽

The United States ◽

The World ◽

Individual Market ◽

Available Technology ◽

The Individual ◽

Technological Opportunities

More and more, the Citrus Business is becoming a global operation, narrowing the technological opportunities gap between processors around the world. Most of the largest Brazilian processors already have process units or commercial partners in the United States, which makes any new technology available worldwide virtually instantaneously. However, there are several market and environmental differences that directly impact the best use of the available technology according to the individual market. Paper published with permission.

Download Full-text

Health Insurance and Labor Supply

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190625979.013.438 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Gregory Colman ◽

Dhaval Dave ◽

Otto Lenhart

Keyword(s):

Labor Market ◽

Health Insurance ◽

Labor Supply ◽

Economies Of Scale ◽

Low Cost ◽

Market Effects ◽

Job Lock ◽

Individual Market ◽

The Individual ◽

The U.S

Health insurance depends on labor market activity more in the U.S. than in any other high-income country. A majority of the population are insured through an employer (known as employer-sponsored insurance or ESI), benefiting from the risk pooling and economies of scale available to group insurance plans. Some workers may therefore be reluctant to leave a job for fear of losing such low-cost insurance, a tendency known as “job lock,” or may switch jobs or work more hours merely to obtain it, known as “job push.” Others obtain insurance through government programs for which eligibility depends on income. They too may adapt their work effort to remain eligible for insurance. Those without access to ESI or who are too young or earn too much to qualify for public coverage (Medicare and Medicaid) can buy insurance only in the individual or nongroup market, where prices are high and variable. Most studies using data from before the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 support the prediction that ESI reduced job mobility, labor-force participation, retirement, and self-employment prior to the ACA, but find little effect on the labor supply of public insurance. The ACA profoundly changed the health insurance market in the U.S., removing restrictions on obtaining insurance from new employers or on the individual market and expanding Medicaid eligibility to previously ineligible adults. Research on the ACA, however, has not found substantial labor supply effects. These results may reflect that the reforms to the individual market mainly affected those who were previously uninsured rather than workers with ESI, that the theoretical labor market effects of expansions in public coverage are ambiguous, and that the effect would be found only among the relatively small number on the fringes of eligibility.

Download Full-text

Package Qualification Envelope for 22FDX® Technology

International Symposium on Microelectronics ◽

10.4071/2380-4505-2019.1.000169 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 (1) ◽

pp. 000169-000175

Author(s):

Christian Klewer ◽

Frank Kuechenmeister ◽

Jens Paul ◽

Dirk Breuer ◽

Bjoern Boehme ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flip Chip ◽

Silicon On Insulator ◽

Wafer Level ◽

Characterization Methods ◽

Fully Depleted ◽

Individual Market ◽

The Individual ◽

Key Aspects ◽

Board Level ◽

Board Level Reliability

Abstract This article describes the methodology used to derive the 22FDX® Fully-Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (FDSOI) Chip Package Interaction (CPI) qualification envelope. In the first part it is discussed how the individual market segments influence the technology features and offerings, including BEOL stacks and package types. In the following, the criteria used for the selection of BEOL stacks, die and package sizes and the interconnect type for the qualification envelope are summarized and explained. The three CPI qualification stages and related characterization methods are presented. CPI test structures used in the envelope are reported and their placement on the technology qualification vehicles (TQV) is outlined on the basis of flip chip TQV. Finally, the paper presents the passing 22FDX® package and board level reliability results obtained for wire bond, flip chip, as well as wafer level fan-in and fan-out package technologies. Key aspects of the individual qualifications are reported.

Download Full-text