Health Insurers Scramble to Keep Healthy Customers

This article from the WSJ describes how insurers are "informing" their customers as the rollout of the health exchanges approaches.

One money quote is, "In most states, carriers are tailoring their messages based on the age and potential subsidy eligibility of their policyholders. Letters to younger, healthier members play up expected rate increases to discourage them from shopping on the exchanges. But in some cases insurers say they are encouraging older people to look at their options on the exchanges, where they might find lower rates."

Why would insurers discourage younger, healthier members from shopping on the exchanges while encouraging older people to do so?

Who can anticipate lower premiums on average under the ACA than before: young people, healthy people, old people, sick people, people with bare bones coverage before ACA? Which of the groups listed above can anticipate higher premiums?

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Cotton wars

This Planet Money story tells why the US pays cotton farmers in Brazil. Here is a condensed version.

Ronald Coase

This opinion is a wonderful tribute to Ronald Coase. It is a nice introduction to the role of government, the theory of the firm, transactions costs, and the Coase Theorem. 

Non-price advertising for Diet Pepsi Max

Here is a cute ad that I might use when talking about some ads attempt to differentiate the product and increase demand by touting benefits.

Personalized pitches

This article from Business Week describes how firms attempt to use technology to achieve 1st degree price discrimination.

How deep are your pockets?

This article from the Economist is a nice description of how firms are gathering information in attempts to practice 1st and 3rd degree price discrimination.

High court dives into resale trade

This article from the WSJ describes an example of a firm attempting to prevent artibrage in order to maintain 3rd degree price discrimination.