This dissertation consists of two empirical papers and one methods paper. The first two papers use quasi-experimental methods to evaluate the impact of universal health insurance reform in Massachusetts (MA) and Thailand and the third paper evaluates the validity of a quasi-experimental method used in comparative effectiveness research (CER).

This dissertation examines heterogeneity in the value of a statistical life (henceforth VSL) stemming from employer-provided health insurance (henceforth EHI) and worker sorting. The dissertation consists of three essays. In the first essay (Chapter 2), I investigate the effect of health-driven productivity on the wage compensation for mortality risk, and how EHI influences VSL using the US labor market data. In this chapter I build a framework showing that the level of job risks influences the incentive of employers to provide EHI. The basic notion of the framework is that health insurance is an investment in health and health is a form of general human capital. Employers are willing to invest in employees' health and pay the associated costs as long as they can recoup the costs of health investment. Occupational hazards, however, are harmful to health; productivity gains from health tend to decline as risk increases, resulting in lower health investment made by employers. As a result, the workers in risky jobs have to contribute more to their health investment in the form of lower wages than do workers in safe jobs. This behavioral response pushes down the wage offer curve of the insured in high risk occupations. Consequently, workers with health insurance, on average, accept a lower risk premium, leading to a lower VSL. Empirical findings from this dissertation suggest evidence of heterogeneity in VSL due to health insurance status: the estimated VSL for workers with health insurance is lower than those without one. In the second essay (Chapter 3), I extend the framework of the second chapter into the United Kingdom (the UK) labor market. Different from the US, the UK has universal health care system in which all eligible individuals (almost all the UK citizens) are covered by publicly-provided health care. This chapter also provides evidence that private medical insurance in the universal health care system affects the risk premium. Despite the fact that the UK and the US have different institutional settings in health coverage, findings from the UK are, to some extent, qualitatively similar to the US. A major issue in estimates of VSL is that people are not randomly assigned to jobs. That is, heterogeneous people would sort into jobs based on their preferences on risk and safety-related skills. Thus, failure to account for heterogeneity in both risk preferences and safety-related skills will bias the estimated VSL. In the third essay (Chapter 4), I discuss worker sorting and how it may affect the mortality risk premium. In this chapter, I focus on the role of personality traits in safety-related skill and their influence on worker sorting based on job risk. I use Five-Factor Model of personality or also known as the ‘’Big Five” personality traits. The big 5 personality traits are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. In my framework, these personality traits are inputs and the technology of skill formation transforms the traits into safety-related skill.

This paper offers in-depth look at the convenient care/retail clinic industry in the context of today’s changing medical landscape with specific focus on Texas-based RediClinic. In addition to a detailed analysis of RediClinic, this paper proposes detailed advertising, marketing and social media recommendations that will aid RediClinic in bolstering its brand image and expanding its client base. Every suggested tactic is framed within the rapidly changing healthcare environment present in America, and specific focus is given to the recent passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This paper attempts to aid RediClinic in understanding and leveraging its most important strengths: its strong position within the Texas market, and its service to those who are currently uninsured. / text

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to explore, from readily available data, the best predictors of medical claims costs at Ball State University (BSU). Multiple regression equations were developed to predict BSU's medical claims costs from selected demographic and health-related measures among 1,799 BSU employees. The predictors were chosen from data previously collected during the three-year study period: July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1998. Regression equations were developed for the entire BSU population and the high-cost population. The linear composite of number of emergency room visits, number of chronic health problems, gender and age predicted 17.86% of the variation in transformed medical claims costs for the entire BSU population. The linear composite of age, number of emergency room visits and gender predicted 9.95% of the variation in transformed medical claims costs for high-cost BSU employees. Logistic regression, performed on the entire BSU population, did not differentiate low and highcost employees well: only 15.0% of high-cost employees were classified correctly. / Fisher Institute for Wellness

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rand Graduate School, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-70).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rand Graduate School, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-70). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rand Graduate School, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-70).

Thesis (Dr. P.H.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: B, page: 0969. Adviser: Charles E. Begley. Includes bibliographical references.

The thesis is focused on the health insurance benefits abuse. Generally there is not paid so much attention to this topic but there is a big rise of recovered and proved cases. The theoretic part is divided into nine subchapters describing the subject of social security and its conception in the Czech Republic with an explanation of historical development. Then the theoretic part deals with just health insurance and particular kinds of benefits. In the last subchapter this thesis occupies with international organizations in the field of human and social rights and briefly discusses also about a system of health insurance in some European countries. The practical part describes the research itself which was made by strategy of qualitative research by a technical analysis of documents. The research sample is formed by data and figures in the whole republic, in some respects there are data of South Bohemia region pointed out. The research revers to reality and risks concluded from unwarranted receiving from the social system. The diploma work would like to warn this way about the importance of this issue and contribute to elimination of these unlawful acts.