Who Takes Advantage of Free Flu Shots? Examining the Effects of an Expansion in Coverage

Because of the high risk of costly complications (including death) and the externalities of contagious diseases, many countries provide free flu shots to certain populations free of charge. This paper examines the expansion of the free flu shot program in the Netherlands. This program expanded in 2008 to cover all individuals over the age of 60, instead of 65. We investigate the effectiveness of the expansion of the flu shot program and examine those factors that are likely to influence people to change their behavior. We find that the main barrier to take up of free flu shots in the Netherlands is labor force participation. Expansion of the program did little to change the behavior of those at increased risk due to co-morbidities, primarily because these individuals were already getting flu shots.Preventive Health Care;Flu Shot;Dutch Policy;Coverage Expansion

Health Insurance Competition: The Effect of Group Contracts

In countries like the US and the Netherlands health insurance is provided by private firms. These private firms can offer both individual and group contracts. The strategic and welfare implications of such group contracts are not well understood. Using a Dutch data set of about 700 group health insurance contracts over the period 2007-2008, we estimate a model to determine which factors explain the price of group contracts. We find that groups that are located close to an insurers’ home turf pay a higher premium than other groups. This finding is not consistent with the bargaining argument in the literature as it implies that concentrated groups close to an insurer’s home turf should get (if any) a larger discount than other groups. A simple Hotelling model, however, does explain our empirical results.health insurance;health-plan choice;managed competition

Evaluatie leeftijdgrensverlaging voor de griepprik

In 2008 is de leeftijdgrens om voor een gratis influenzavaccinatie in Nederland in aanmerking te komen, verlaagd van 65 naar 60 jaar. Deze maatregel heeft tot nu toe echter weinig effect gehad op het gedrag van de gezonde mensen die tot deze doelgroep behoren. Een duidelijke voorlichting zou het vaccinatieprogramma ten goede komen