Is MediGap efficiently priced?

In 2004, 29% of Medicare enrollees had Medigap coverage.  Are these policies priced efficiently? An NBER paper by Maestas, Schroeder and Goldman (2009) argues that the answer is no.   Prior to July 1992, Medigap was minimally regulated.  With the passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (implemented in July 1992), Medigap plans…

Canadian Social Security and Well-Being

Does Social Security work?  By that, I mean does giving elderly individuals a government pension increase their level of income, the amount of goods the can consume, or even their happiness? An NBER working paper by Baker, Gruber and Milligan (2009) tries to answer this question in the Canadian setting. Background Currently, Canadian income transfer…

Informal Payments in Public Healthcare

Healthcare Europa reports that despite being in a public healthcare system, many physicians receive informal payments to supplement their income. “The top doctors, the ones in managerial positions in hospitals, make 5-10 times their monthly salaries of Euros 1,000 to Euros 2,000 from informal payments. They will also take bribes on any new equipment or…