Health Affairs

Are California's Large Employers Moving To Catastrophic Health Insurance Coverage?

James Maxwell ^1*, Peter Temin ², Saminaz Zaman ³, Tanaz Petigara ⁴

¹ James Maxwell is director of health policy and management research at JSI Research and Training in Boston, Massachusetts.
² Peter Temin is the Elisha Gray II Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
³ Saminaz Zaman is a research associate at JSI Research and Training.
⁴ Tanaz Petigara is a doctoral student at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Large employers in California are experimenting with new health benefit and insurance options as premium rates continue to escalate. This study examines the offer and penetration rates of catastrophic coverage insurance products, including high-deductible PPO and consumer-driven health plans, among large California employers before the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 was passed. Only a few employers offered these plans, and they did not provide adequate incentives for their workers to accept. California employers, like the rest of the nation, implemented these plans as alternatives rather than replacements to their current plan choices.

Key Words: Business Of Health, Health Reform, Insurance - Employer-Based System, State/Local Issues, Health Spending, Insurance Market

                      What's this?