New Insurance Study Findings Have Been Reported by Researchers at Belmont University (The Union Advantage: Union Membership, Access To Care, and the Affordable Care Act): Insurance

Health Policy and Law Daily

2022 AUG 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Investigators discuss new findings in Insurance. According to news reporting out of Nashville, Tennessee, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “We describe a ‘union advantage’ in health insurance coverage and access to care. Using multiple statistical models and data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey for 1996-2019, we show that-compared to non-union workers-union workers are more likely to have health insurance coverage (98% vs. 86%), more likely to have a regular care provider (83% vs. 74%), visited office-based providers 31% more often (5.64 vs. 4.27 visits), spend $832 more on healthcare annually, and pay a lower share of their expenditures out-of-pocket (26% vs. 37%).”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Belmont University, “When we control for demographic characteristics across variety of specifications, these differences almost always remain at a statistically significant level. Further, we show that the union advantage is greater for low-income workers. Next, we demonstrate that-although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) appears to have reduced the union advantage in health insurance coverage by increasing coverage rates among non-union workers-a substantial union advantage in access to care remains after the ACA’s main provisions become effective. Finally, we explore how the ACA interacted with the trade union goal of maintaining employer-based health insurance. We show that unionized workers are less likely to contribute to ‘enrollment shifting,’ which occurs when individuals shift from existing employer-based insurance to a new government funded program.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “This suggests that union bargaining over fringe benefits may have positive externalities in the form of cost reductions to the public sector.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: The Union Advantage: Union Membership, Access To Care, and the Affordable Care Act. International Journal of Health Economics and Management, 2022. International Journal of Health Economics and Management can be contacted at: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Luke Petach, Belmont University, Jack C Massey Coll Business, 1900 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37212, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10754-022-09336-7. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.