Consumer price sensitivity in Dutch health insurance.

Aim: To estimate the price sensitivity of consumer choice of health insurance firm.

Method: Using paneldata of the flows of insured between pairs of Dutch sickness funds during the period 1993-2002, we estimate the sensitivity of these flows to differences in insurance premium.

Results: The price elasticity of residual demand for health insurance was low during the period 1993-2002, confirming earlier findings based on annual changes in market share.