TY  - JOUR
AU  - Remler,Dahlia K.
AU  - Rachlin,Jason E.
AU  - Glied,Sherry A.
TI  - What can the take-up of other programs teach us about how to improve take-up of health insurance programs?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8185
PY  - 2001
Y2  - March 2001
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8185
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8185.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
dremler

Sherry A. Glied
Mailman School of Public Health
Columbia University
Department of Health Policy and Management
600 West 168th Street, Room 610
New York, NY 10032
Tel: 212/305-0299
Fax: 212/305-3405
E-Mail: sag1@columbia.edu
AB  - Many uninsured Americans are already eligible for free or low-cost public coverage through Medicaid or CHIP but do not take up that coverage.  Several other programs, such as food stamps and unemployment insurance, also have less than complete take-up rates and take-up rates vary considerably among programs. This paper examines the take-up literature across a variety of programs to learn what effects non-financial features, such as administrative complexity, have on take-up. We find that making benefit receipt automatic is the most effective means of ensuring high take-up, while there is little evidence that stigma is important.  Overall, surprisingly little is known about the quantitative impact, of non-financial characteristics of programs on take-up.  New research that could be used to draw measurable causal inferences about how features as administrative complexity, renewal rules, and organizational structure affect participation, would be extremely valuable.
ER  -