title: Determinants for employer-paid health insurance coverage: a population-based study of the Danish labour force.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In 2002, the Danish tax law was changed, giving employees a tax exemption on supplemental, employer-paid health insurance. This might have conflicted with one of the key foundations of the healthcare system, namely equal access for equal needs. The aim of this study was to investigate determinants for employer-paid health insurance coverage. Because the policy change affected only people who were part of the labour force and because the public sector at that time had no tradition of providing fringe benefits, the analysis was restricted to the private labour force.
  
  
  METHODS
  The analysis was based on data from a range of Danish person-level and company-level registers (explanatory variables). These data were combined with information on insurance status obtained from the trade organisation for insurance (dependent variable). A logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds of having employer-paid health insurance coverage.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The individuals who were most likely to be insured were those employed in foreign companies as mid-level managers within the field of building and construction. Other important variables were the number of persons employed in a company, gender, ethnicity, region of residence, years of education, and annual income.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both company and individual characteristics were found to be important and significant predictors for employer-paid health insurance coverage. The Danish tax exemption on private health insurance in the years 2002-12 thus seems to have led to inequality in employer-paid health insurance coverage.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Applied Health Services Research-CAST, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, Denmark. annc@cast.sdu.dk
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: Rikke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Søgaard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017149:Private Sector / Q000191:economics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019464:Tax Exemption / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Denmark; Tax Assessment Act; health insurance; inequality