Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35129731›Full record

ArticleThe European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care2022

Should administrative costs in health insurance be included in the risk-equalization? An analysis of five countries.

Rudy Douven, Lukas Kauer, Sylvia Demme, Francesco Paolucci, Wynand van de Ven, Jürgen Wasem, Xiaoxi Zhao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Exploration of using constrained regression in Germany's morbidity-based risk adjustment.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. The goal of risk equalization in regulated competitive health insurance markets.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2023
    Article
  4. Trends in Medicaid Administrative Expenditures During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Rudy DouvenCPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, The Hague, The Netherlands. r.douven@cpb.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3948-9678
Lukas KauerCSS Institute for Empirical Health Economics, Lucerne, Switzerland.
Sylvia DemmeFederal Office for Social Security, Bonn, Germany.
Francesco PaolucciUniversity of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.
Wynand van de VenErasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Jürgen WasemUniversity of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany.
Xiaoxi ZhaoBoston University, Boston, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Most countries that apply risk-equalization in their health insurance market(s) perform risk-equalization on medical claims but do not include other components of the insurance premium, such as administrative costs. Using fixed effects panel regressions from individual insurers in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the US, we find evidence that health insurers with a high morbidity population on average have higher administrative costs. We argue that administrative costs should also be included in risk-equalization and we show that such equalization results in additional equalization payments nontrivial in size. Using examples from Germany and the US, we show how in practice policymakers can include administrative costs in risk-equalization. We are skeptical about applying risk-equalization to other components of the insurance premium, such as profits or costs related to solvency requirements of insurers.

Indexed as

Insurance, HealthRisk AdjustmentCosts and Cost AnalysisHumansInsurance CarriersMorbidityAdministrative insurance costsLoading feeMedical claimsRisk-equalizationRisk-equalization payments

Identifiers

PMID35129731
PMCPMC9666317

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.