| Abstract: |
We use data from several national employer surveys conducted between the late
1980s and the mid-1990s to investigate the effect of state-level underwriting
reforms on HMO penetration in the small-group health insurance market. We
identify reform effects by exploiting cross-state variation in the timing and
content of reform legislation and by using mid-sized and large employers,
which were not affected by the legislation, as within-state control groups.
While it is difficult to disentangle the effect of state reforms from other
factors affecting HMO penetration in the small group markets, the results
suggest a positive relationship between insurance market regulations and HMO
penetration. |