Adverse selection, genetic testing and life insurance - lessons from health insurance in Australia

The use of predictive genetic tests in setting premiums for life insurance is a controversial issue. Critics argue inter alia that this is ‘discriminatory’, that it will lead to the creation of a ‘genetic underclass’, and that it can lead to individuals being coerced to obtain information that they might not otherwise wish to have. Advocates argue that it is necessary in order to avoid creating serious asymmetric information in the insurance industry with consequent adverse selection. This paper is concerned with the adverse selection argument

Economic issues in a trial of the controlled provision of heroin

Executive Summary: This paper discusses some economic issues that may be investigated as part of a proposed trial of the controlled provision of heroin in the Australian Capital Territory. Such a trial would provide an opportunity to gather empirical evidence on some aspects of the operation of the market for heroin. Specifically, it would enable the investigation of the extent to which purity, rather than price, is the equilibrating mechanism in this market. If purity is an important equilibrating mechanism, then provision of heroin of constant purity to trial participants would yield important health benefits to those participants. However, if purity on the black market is increased in economic retaliation against a trial, there may be unintended adverse effects on the health of black market users in the short run. In the long run, stabilisation of purity on the black market may be associated with an improvement in the health status of non-trial users. An important issue that cannot be addressed in the context of the proposed trial is the price elasticity of demand for heroin, that is, the responsiveness of demand for heroin to a change in its price. The use of pre–specified criteria to determine eligibility for participation in a trial will preclude any estimation of the increase in demand for heroin attributable to a fall in its price

Measurements of differential production cross sections for a Z boson in association with jets in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Charged-particle nuclear modification factors in PbPb and pPb collisions at √=sNN=5.02 TeV

The spectra of charged particles produced within the pseudorapidity window |η| < 1 at √ sNN = 5.02 TeV are measured using 404 µb −1 of PbPb and 27.4 pb−1 of pp data collected by the CMS detector at the LHC in 2015. The spectra are presented over the transverse momentum ranges spanning 0.5 < pT < 400 GeV in pp and 0.7 < pT < 400 GeV in PbPb collisions. The corresponding nuclear modification factor, RAA, is measured in bins of collision centrality. The RAA in the 5% most central collisions shows a maximal suppression by a factor of 7–8 in the pT region of 6–9 GeV. This dip is followed by an increase, which continues up to the highest pT measured, and approaches unity in the vicinity of pT = 200 GeV. The RAA is compared to theoretical predictions and earlier experimental results at lower collision energies. The newly measured pp spectrum is combined with the pPb spectrum previously published by the CMS collaboration to construct the pPb nuclear modification factor, RpA, up to 120 GeV. For pT > 20 GeV, RpA exhibits weak momentum dependence and shows a moderate enhancement above unity

The DRG Hospital Scheme: Some Economic Aspects

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Estimating disease-specific costs of GP services in Australia

The primary purpose of this paper is to develop estimates of the costs of management by general practitioners (GPs) of specific diseases. The motivation for the project arises from a dearth of knowledge about the costs of GP management of various conditions on a disease-specific basis. In Australia, aggregate data on the Medicare benefits paid for “GP attendances” are provided in the statistical tables accompanying the annual reports of the Health Insurance Commission (e.g. Health Insurance Commission 2000), but these data do not report the total fees charged by GPs and are not available on a disease-specific basis. The present study uses data available from a nationally representative sample of GPs – the Australian Morbidity and Treatment Survey (AMTS) – combined with information provided by the (then) Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, to estimate disease-specific costs of GP services. The AMTS, undertaken by the (then) Family Medicine Research Unit at the University of Sydney over the twelve month period from October 1990 to September 1991, contains data on the problems managed at GP encounters (up to four per encounter), the medications prescribed and treatments provided for each of those problems, and the pathology, radiology and other tests ordered at each encounter. A (single) Medicare item number was also recorded for each encounter (Bridges-Webb et al, 1992). These data can be used, in conjunction with data on the average price charged by item number supplied by the two Commonwealth Departments just mentioned, to investigate the costs of management by GPs of specific conditions

Distributing Natural Disaster Costs in Australia - Policy and Effects

This paper presents an outline of government policy on natural disaster relief in Australia. Two effects of that policy on the distribution of the costs of a particular natural disaster (the 1974 Queensland floods) are then quantified. First, the relative shares of public sector relief borne by the three levels of government in Australia following that disaster are determined. Second, the distribution of the costs of that disaster between various groups (insurance, government, private philanthropy and the disaster victims themselves) is estimated. The success of the government's policy in achieving its objectives is then evaluated

An Economic Evaluation of Four Intergovernmental Policies for Natural Disaster Relief in Australia

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Distributing Natural Disaster Costs in Australia - Policy and Effects

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