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Genetic variation in health insurance coverage

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Abstract

We provide the first investigation into whether and how much genes explain having health insurance coverage or not and possible mechanisms for genetic variation. Using a twin-design that compares identical and non-identical twins from a national sample of US twins from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, we find that genetic effects explain over 40% of the variation in whether a person has any health coverage versus not, and nearly 50% of the variation in whether individuals younger than 65 have private coverage versus whether they have no coverage at all. Nearly one third of the genetic variation in being uninsured versus having private coverage is explained by employment industry, self-employment status, and income, and together with education, they explain over 40% of the genetic influence. Marital status, number of children, and available measures of health status, risk preferences, and prevention effort do not appear to be important channels for genetic effects. That genes have meaningful effects on the insurance status suggests an important source of heterogeneity in insurance take up.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Iowa, 145 N. Riverside Dr., 100 College of Public Health Bldg., Room N250, Iowa City, IA, 52242-2007, USA

    George L. Wehby & Dan Shane

  2. Department of Economics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    George L. Wehby

  3. Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    George L. Wehby

  4. Public Policy Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    George L. Wehby

  5. National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA

    George L. Wehby

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  1. George L. Wehby
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Correspondence to George L. Wehby.

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Wehby, G.L., Shane, D. Genetic variation in health insurance coverage. Int J Health Econ Manag. 19, 301–316 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10754-018-9255-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10754-018-9255-y

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