Abstract
How can private health insurance be as cheap as it is? At least for the young and the healthy, who get away with a rather low premium in spite of all guarantees and promises made by insurance companies. This chapter examines how insurance companies and their policyholders free ride on the public health system, and how prices therefore can be kept lower than would otherwise have been the case. One example is that policyholders come to premises where the rent is already being paid for by the public, i.e. by the taxpayers. Another example is that private health insurance customers can be treated by doctors who are paid by the public authorities. This is partly due to the increased possibilities of multiple jobholding or so-called moonlighting.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adema, W. (1997). What do countries really spend on social policies? A comparative note. OECD Economic Studies,28(1), 153–167.
Berman, P., & Cuizon, D. (2004). Multiple public-private jobholding of health care providers in developing countries: An exploration of theory and evidence. Issue paper-private sector. London: Department for International Development Health Systems Resource Centre Publication.
Biglaiser, G., & Albert Ma, C. T. (2007). Moonlighting: Public service and private practice. The RAND Journal of Economics,38(4), 1113–1133.
Eggleston, K., & Bir, A. (2006). Physician dual practice. Health Policy,78(2–3), 157–166.
Erlingsson, G. Ó., & Öhrvall, R. (2013). Kommunerna brister i hanteringen av anställdas bisysslor. under utgivning i Ekonomisk Debatt.
Grossman, S. J., & Hart, O. D. (1980). Takeover bids, the free-rider problem, and the theory of the corporation. The Bell Journal of Economics, 11, 42–64.
Hacker, J. S. (2002). The divided welfare state: The battle over public and private social benefits in the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Heidenheimer, A. J., & Elvander, N. (Eds.) (1980). The shaping of the Swedish health system. London: Croom Helm.
Immergut, E. M. (1990). Institutions, veto points, and policy results: A comparative analysis of health care. Journal of Public Policy,10(4), 391–416.
Levi-Faur, D. (2014). The welfare state: A regulatory perspective. Public Administration,92(3), 599–614.
Morel, N., Touzet, C., & Zemmour, M. (2018). Fiscal welfare in Europe: Why should we care and what do we know so far? Journal of European Social Policy,28(5), 549–560.
Olesen, J. D. (2010). Adapting the welfare state: Privatisation in health care in Denmark, England and Sweden. Doctoral dissertation.
Seah, D. S., Cheong, T. Z., & Anstey, M. H. (2013). The hidden cost of private health insurance in Australia. Australian Health Review,37(1), 1–3.
Skinner, C. A., Riordan, R. L., Fraser, K. L., Buchanan, J. D., & Goulston, K. J. (2006). The challenge of locum working arrangements in New South Wales public hospitals. Medical Journal of Australia,185(5), 276–278.
Socha, K. Z., & Bech, M. (2011). Physician dual practice: A review of literature. Health Policy,102(1), 1–7.
Titmuss, R. (1958). Essays on the welfare state. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Tollison, R. D. (1982). Rent seeking: A survey. Kyklos,35(4), 575–602.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lapidus, J. (2019). A Burden for the Common. In: The Quest for a Divided Welfare State. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24784-3_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24784-3_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24783-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24784-3
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)