We calculate elasticities of take - up with respect to premium
price of around 1.0, significantly larger than those typically found
in past studies. There are several reasons why our estimated
demand curve may differ from those found in past studies. First,
as mentioned earlier, almost all past work is based on individuals’
decisions to join employer-provided health plans, a decision few
of the uninsured actually face. In fact, our elasticities are quite
similar to those found among another group of individuals not
offered employer-provided insurance, the self-employed (Gruber
and Poterba, 1994).