The Effect of Private Health Insurance on Healthcare Utilization: Evidence from the Korea Health Panel
Title
The Effect of Private Health Insurance on Healthcare Utilization: Evidence from the Korea Health Panel
Alternative Author(s)
Song, Yunah
Keyword
Private Health Insurance
; Moral Hazard
; Adverse Selection
; Advantageous Selection
; Health Service Accessibility
Publication Year
2022-06-30
Publisher
Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs
Citation
Health and Social Welfare Review Vol.42 No.2, pp.327-346
Abstract
This article examines the causal effect of private health insurance on the utilization of health care services using the Korea Health Panel from 2014 and 2018. To control for self-selection bias, it employs the latent factor structure consisting of a discrete choice module for health insurance plans (uninsured, fixed-benefit, indemnity, fixed-benefit plus indemnity) and an outcome equation with count dependent variable measuring utilization. The results indicate that both the indemnity type and the fixed-benefit plus indemnity type increased physician visits, and the length of hospital stay increased in the fixed-benefit plus indemnity type. There was positive insurance effect on health care utilization at the lowest income level, which suggests that private insurance deepens economic inequalities in health care utilization. Also, private health insurance is found to increase physician visits for regular wage workers and the length of hospital stay for self-employed workers. In addition, the positive insurance effect on health care utilization is more pronounced in individuals below the age of 50.