Annotated Bibliography
Blavin, F., Shartzer, A., Long, S. K., & Holahan, J. (2014). An early look at changes in
employer-sponsored insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Health Affairs, 34(1), 170-177.
Buchmueller, T., Carey, C., & Levy, H. G. (2013). Will employers drop health insurance
coverage because of the Affordable Care Act? Health Affairs, 32(9), 1522-1530.
Jost, T. S., & Hall, M. A. (2012). Self-Insurance for Small Employers Under the Affordable Care
Act: Federal and State Regulatory Options. NYU Ann. Surv. Am. L., 68, 539.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) continue to face health insurance challenges in the modern economy. The above three research articles provide crucial information that seeks to find out the current situation while trying to provide a solution. Buchmueller and his colleagues conduct research on the impact of the current Affordable Care Act on the SMEs. Their study finds out the size of the business directly affects the ability of employers to maintain medical cover for their employees. Advantages of economies of scale increase with the size of the organization. Therefore, the research proves the hypothesis of the proposal.
Consequently, Jost and Hall’s article explores alternatives that may save the situation. In their work, they propose the self-insurance option for small employers as an alternative to the problem at hand. According to their research, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in late 1996 seems to be the biggest barrier towards adopting other insurance options. For instance, the comparable health insurance coverage costs are tremendously higher for small and medium-sized enterprises but having less bargaining power. Individual employees are little knowledge of the self-insurance option. Finally, Blavin and his colleagues look into the potential threat of the Affordable Care Act to survival and affordability of employer-sponsored insurance. They note that the implementation of the Act is a threat to the SMEs when it comes to their ability to sponsor employee medical insurance.
The three articles are important in addressing the problem at hand. They start from investigation the medical insurance problem among the SMEs in the market. They present the data and the struggle the small and medium undergo in their quests to sustain employee health insurance. One of the articles also researches on the contribution made by the Affordable Care Act towards the problem. Finally, the articles also provide an alternative of self-insurance that seem affordable. The three articles will help in conducting the research.
References
Blavin, F., Shartzer, A., Long, S. K., & Holahan, J. (2014). An early look at changes in employer-sponsored insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Health Affairs, 34(1), 170-177.
Buchmueller, T., Carey, C., & Levy, H. G. (2013). Will employers drop health insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act? Health Affairs, 32(9), 1522-1530.
Jost, T. S., & Hall, M. A. (2012). Self-Insurance for small employers under the Affordable Care Act: Federal and State Regulatory Options. NYU Ann. Surv. Am. L., 68, 539.