Reproductive Health Care in Catholic-Owned Hospitals

Elaine Hill, David Slusky and Donna Ginther

No 23768, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Mergers that affiliate a hospital with a Catholic owner, network, or system reduce the set of possible reproductive medical procedures since Catholic hospitals have strict prohibitions on contraception. Using changes in ownership of hospitals, we find that Catholic hospitals reduce the per bed rates of tubal ligations by 31%, whereas there is no significant change in related permitted procedures such as Caesarian sections. However, across a variety of measures, we find minimal overall welfare reductions. Still, fewer tubal ligations increase the risk of unintended pregnancies across the United States, imposing a potentially substantial cost for less reliable contraception on women and their partners.

JEL-codes: J13 L31 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
Note: EH IO
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Published as Elaine L. Hill & David J.G. Slusky & Donna K. Ginther, 2019. "Reproductive Health Care in Catholic-Owned Hospitals," Journal of Health Economics, .

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Journal Article: Reproductive health care in Catholic-owned hospitals (2019)
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