title: The economics of health insurance.
abstract: Insurance plays an important role in the United States, most importantly in but not limited to medical care. The authors introduce basic economic concepts that make medical care and health insurance different from other goods and services traded in the market. They emphasize that competitive pricing in the marketplace for insurance leads, quite rationally, to risk classification, market segmentation, and market failure. The article serves as a springboard for understanding the basis of the reforms that regulate the health insurance market in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. saurabh.jha@uphs.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D018803:Models, Economic; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States