American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
The Impacts of Physician Payments on Patient Access, Use, and Health
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 16,
no. 3, July 2024
(pp. 142–77)
Abstract
We examine how supply-side health insurance generosity affects patient access, use, and health. Exploiting large, exogenous changes in Medicaid reimbursement rates for physicians, we find that increasing payments for new patient office visits reduces reports of providers turning away beneficiaries: closing the gap in payments between Medicaid and private insurers would reduce more than half of disparities in access among adults and would eliminate such disparities among children. We further find that higher physician reimbursement leads to more office visits, better self-reported health, and reduced school absenteeism among the program's beneficiaries.Citation
Alexander, Diane, and Molly Schnell. 2024. "The Impacts of Physician Payments on Patient Access, Use, and Health." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 16 (3): 142–77. DOI: 10.1257/app.20210227Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- G22 Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
- H51 National Government Expenditures and Health
- I11 Analysis of Health Care Markets
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J44 Professional Labor Markets; Occupational Licensing