PennPPR
Insurance Incentives
February 22, 2011 - "Insurance Incentives for Improving Healthcare Behavior" - Penn Program on Regulation recently hosted a Risk Regulation Seminar on insurance incentives in the US. The seminar consisted of Professor Tom Baker of Penn Law and Professor Kevin Volpp of the Leonard Davis Institute at the University of Pennsylvania presented their findings from research done on recently published papers. Professor Volpp discussed his findings regarding Section 2705 of the 2010 Patient Protection Affordable Health Care Act, otherwise known as the Safeway amendment. This amendment allows businesses to offer their employees more insurance discounts for healthy behaviors. Volpp's research shows that individual healthy behaviors from employees can, over time, result in large amounts saved on insurance payouts and premiums. Volpp uses the example of a study undertaken with a large company where employees were given financial incentives to quit smoking for prolonged periods of time. The argument is that these financial incentives to reduce risky behaviors eventually save employer's money in down the line insurance payouts for long-term chronic diseases like cardiac disease, cancer, and diabetes. Within Volpp's study, financial incentives were able to increase rates of smoking cessation as compared to a control group. This smoking cessation was estimated to, if maintained, save the company examined approximately $3500 per year through reduction of employee illness, reduced insurance spending, and increased productivity. Afterwards, Professor Baker examined the specific ways that the Affordable Care Act influences the federal government to encourage public and private insurance companies to increasing incentives for healthy behaviors. Kevin Volpp is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Health Care Management as well as the Director of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and the Center for Health Incentives at the University of Pennsylvania. Tom Baker is the Deputy Dean and the William Maul Measey Professor of Law and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Insurance Incentives
February 22, 2011 - "Insurance Incentives for Improving Healthcare Behavior" - Penn Program on Regulation recently hosted a Risk Regulation Seminar on insurance incentives in the US. The seminar consisted of Professor Tom Baker of Penn Law and Professor Kevin Volpp of the Leonard Davis Institute at the University of Pennsylvania presented their findings from research done on recently published papers. Professor Volpp discussed his findings regarding Section 2705 of the 2010 Patient Protection Affordable Health Care Act, otherwise known as the Safeway amendment. This amendment allows businesses to offer their employees more insurance discounts for healthy behaviors. Volpp's research shows that individual healthy behaviors from employees can, over time, result in large amounts saved on insurance payouts and premiums. Volpp uses the example of a study undertaken with a large company where employees were given financial incentives to quit smoking for prolonged periods of time. The argument is that these financial incentives to reduce risky behaviors eventually save employer's money in down the line insurance payouts for long-term chronic diseases like cardiac disease, cancer, and diabetes. Within Volpp's study, financial incentives were able to increase rates of smoking cessation as compared to a control group. This smoking cessation was estimated to, if maintained, save the company examined approximately $3500 per year through reduction of employee illness, reduced insurance spending, and increased productivity. Afterwards, Professor Baker examined the specific ways that the Affordable Care Act influences the federal government to encourage public and private insurance companies to increasing incentives for healthy behaviors. Kevin Volpp is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Health Care Management as well as the Director of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and the Center for Health Incentives at the University of Pennsylvania. Tom Baker is the Deputy Dean and the William Maul Measey Professor of Law and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.