Health Affairs, 27, no. 3 (2008): w242-w249 (Published online 6 May 2008) doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.27.3.w242 © 2008 by Project HOPE	New Online   Pay Cuts For Medicare Docs   Access To Care Woes   Public Coverage More Efficient   Empowering Consumers

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How Risky Is Individual Health Insurance?

This paper describes the relationship between type of insurance coverage in one period and the likelihood of becoming uninsured in the next. We find that for people at the median health status, becoming uninsured is most likely for those with individual insurance, less likely for those with small-group insurance, and least likely for those with large-group insurance. However, for people in poor or fair health, the chances of losing coverage are much greater for people who had small-group insurance than for those who had individual insurance. We attribute these results to the offsetting effects of high loadings and guaranteed renewability in the individual market.

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