실손의료보험은 정상재인가 열등재인가?

Social and economic roles of the fee-for-service health insurance have been nontrivial in Korea since coverage of the public health insurance is the lowest among the OECD countries. Especially, because the extent of coverage of the public health insurance are similar among different income brackets, investigating consumption behaviors of the fee-for-service health insurance along with income levels would provide meaningful implications from public policy viewpoint. It is shown in both theoretical model and empirical analysis that the affluent who are affordable for the fee-for-service health insurance would not purchase it. Namely, the fee-for-service insurance shares the characteristics of inferior goods and services. The low-income brackets are not accessible to the fee-for-service health insurance whereas individuals in high-income brackets are reluctant to consume because of premium perceived high relative to their low risk characteristics. Thus, it is necessary to boost sales of health insurance which cover only the medical costs or the coverage of the public health insurance for the low income group. At the same time, in order for the majority consumers to enjoy adequate level of premium in a sustainable manner, some measures need to be taken to stimulate the consumption of the fee-for-service health insurance by the affluent.