Arbeitspapier

Transfer Payment Systems and Financial Distress: Insights from Health Insurance Premium Subsidies

How should payment systems of means-tested benefits be designed to improve the financial situation of needy recipients most effectively? We study this question in the context of mandatory health insurance in Switzerland, where recipients initially received either a cash transfer or subsidized insurance premiums (a form of in-kind transfer). A federal reform in 2014 forced cantons (i.e. states) to universally switch to in-kind provision. We exploit this setting based on a difference-in-differences design, analyzing rich individual-level accounting data and applying a machine learning approach to identify cash recipients prior to the reform. We find that switching from cash to in-kind transfers reduces the likelihood of late premiums payments by about 20% and of government debt collection for long-term missed payments by approximately 16%. There is no evidence for a negative spillover effect on the timely payment of the non-subsidized coinsurance bills for health services after the regime change.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 13767

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Household Saving; Personal Finance
Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
Health Insurance, Public and Private
Thema
health insurance
transfers
cash subsidies
in-kind transfers
financial distress
debt collection

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Schmid, Christian P. R.
Schreiner, Nicolas
Stutzer, Alois
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
(wo)
Bonn
(wann)
2020

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:45 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Schmid, Christian P. R.
  • Schreiner, Nicolas
  • Stutzer, Alois
  • Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Entstanden

  • 2020

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