TY - JOUR
T1 - Labor Market Concentration and Worker Contributions to Health Insurance Premiums
AU - Meiselbach, Mark K.
AU - Eisenberg, Matthew D.
AU - Bai, Ge
AU - Sen, Aditi
AU - Anderson, Gerard F.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was supported by Arnold Ventures and grant number T32HS000029 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - In concentrated labor markets, where workers have fewer employers to choose from, employers may exploit their monopsony power by contributing less to workers’ health benefits. This study examined if labor market concentration was associated with higher worker contributions to health plan premiums. We combined publicly available data from the Census to calculate labor market concentration and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance/Employer Component to determine premium contributions from 2010 to 2016 for metropolitan areas. After controlling for year fixed-effects and market characteristics, we found that higher labor market concentration was associated with higher worker contributions to health plan premiums, lower take-home income, and no change in employer contributions to premiums, consistent with the hypothesis that greater labor market concentration is associated with less generous health benefits. When evaluating the effects of mergers and acquisitions on labor markets, regulatory agencies should critically assess worker contributions to health insurance premiums.
AB - In concentrated labor markets, where workers have fewer employers to choose from, employers may exploit their monopsony power by contributing less to workers’ health benefits. This study examined if labor market concentration was associated with higher worker contributions to health plan premiums. We combined publicly available data from the Census to calculate labor market concentration and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance/Employer Component to determine premium contributions from 2010 to 2016 for metropolitan areas. After controlling for year fixed-effects and market characteristics, we found that higher labor market concentration was associated with higher worker contributions to health plan premiums, lower take-home income, and no change in employer contributions to premiums, consistent with the hypothesis that greater labor market concentration is associated with less generous health benefits. When evaluating the effects of mergers and acquisitions on labor markets, regulatory agencies should critically assess worker contributions to health insurance premiums.
KW - employer-sponsored insurance
KW - health insurance premiums
KW - labor market concentration
KW - private insurance
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U2 - 10.1177/10775587211012992
DO - 10.1177/10775587211012992
M3 - Article
C2 - 33957807
AN - SCOPUS:85105703898
JO - Medical Care Research and Review
JF - Medical Care Research and Review
SN - 1077-5587
ER -