Health Insurance

This book provides a thorough overview of health insurance in the United States, with an emphasis on private insurance. Topics covered include: The historical development of U.S. health insurance and the theory of demand for insurance, Issues of adverse selection and moral hazard, How managed care affects hospital and physician markets, The large role played by employer-sponsored health insurance programs, Health savings accounts, consumer-driven plans, and the small-employer market, Traditional Medicare coverage as well as Medicare Advantage programs and Medigap coverage,Medicaid, SCHIP, and crowd-out of private coverage. Charts and tables as well as bulleted summaries further clarify the key points of each chapter.

Michael A. Morrisey, PhD, is a professor in the department of health care organization and policy in the School of Public Health of the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he has taught courses on health insurance for more than 18 years. He is the director of the UAB Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and holds appointments in several other UAB departments and centers. He is the author of over 140 research papers, many dealing with employer-sponsored health insurance and with managed care. He is a fellow of the Employee Benefits Research Institute.