The Recipient Value and Distributional Impact of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card in 2007

This paper considers the recipient value and distributional impact of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) by analysing a range of possible behavioural responses to economic incentives. First, I estimate the recipient value by considering the trade‐off between moral hazard and risk pooling. The utility gain through risk‐pooling is found to be negligible. The deadweight loss through moral hazard may be considerable. I also use illustrative models to demonstrate the possible effects of the CSHC on savings and labour supply. Whilst the CSHC may induce some people to save and work more, it may have the opposite effect on others.