Work

Returns to Local-Area Health Care Spending: Evidence from Health Shocks to Patients Far From Home

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: Healthcare spending varies widely across markets, and previous empirical studies find little evidence that higher spending translates into better health outcomes. The main innovation in this paper exploits this cross-sectional variation in hospital spending in a new way by considering patients who are exposed to healthcare systems not designed for them: patients far from home when a health emergency strikes. Visitors to Florida who become ill in high-spending areas have significantly lower mortality rates compared to visitors in lower-spending areas. The results are robust within groups of similar visitors and within groups of destinations that appear to be close demand substitutes-areas that likely attract similar visitors.

Source: American Economic Journal Applied Economics

DOI: 10.1257/app.3.3.221

Author: Joseph J Doyle

Institutions: National Bureau of Economic Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Healthcare Policy and Management

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging