Anmerkungen:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments May 7, 2021 erstellt
Beschreibung:
The Affordable Care Act’s subsidies enable seven million Americans to purchase zero-premium insurance plans. Millions more are eligible for generously subsidized health plans with small, positive premiums. What difference does a premium of zero make, relative to a slightly positive premium? Using a regression discontinuity design and administrative data from Colorado, we find that zero-premium plans increase coverage substantially, primarily by helping low-income households begin coverage sooner. The main mechanism is eliminating the transaction costs of having to make on-time payments to begin coverage. Transaction costs may be a meaningful barrier to subsidized insurance coverage take-up, particularly for low-income families