The Effects of Patient Cost-Sharing on Adolescents' Healthcare Utilization and Financial Risk Protection: Evidence from South Korea

Seonghoon Kim (), Kanghyock Koh () and Wonjun Lyou ()
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Seonghoon Kim: Singapore Management University
Kanghyock Koh: Korea University
Wonjun Lyou: Ohio State University

No 16897, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We examine the effects of patient cost-sharing on adolescents' healthcare utilization and out-of-pocket medical expenditures by exploiting the healthcare reform in South Korea that lowered the coinsurance rate for inpatient care from 20% to 5% for children under 16. We apply a difference-in-regression-discontinuities design using administrative claims data. We find that the reform increased adolescents' inpatient care utilization. It also reduced out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures. This effect was larger among low-income households, facilitating income redistribution. However, the lack of evidence on health improvements and household consumption spending responses suggests that generous patient cost-sharing for adolescent healthcare may cause efficiency losses.

Keywords: consumption spending; income redistribution; out-of-pocket expenditure; healthcare utilization; patient cost-sharing; difference in regression discontinuities design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I13 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46 pages
Date: 2024-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-sea
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Published - published in: Economic Inquiry, 2024, 62 (3), 1009-1023.

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