The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions

Carlos Dobkin, Amy Finkelstein, Raymond Kluender and Matthew Notowidigdo

American Economic Review, 2018, vol. 108, issue 2, 308-52

Abstract: We use an event study approach to examine the economic consequences of hospital admissions for adults in two datasets: survey data from the Health and Retirement Study, and hospitalization data linked to credit reports. For non-elderly adults with health insurance, hospital admissions increase out-of-pocket medical spending, unpaid medical bills, and bankruptcy, and reduce earnings, income, access to credit, and consumer borrowing. The earnings decline is substantial compared to the out-of-pocket spending increase, and is minimally insured prior to age-eligibility for Social Security Retirement Income. Relative to the insured non-elderly, the uninsured non-elderly experience much larger increases in unpaid medical bills and bankruptcy rates following a hospital admission. Hospital admissions trigger fewer than 5 percent of all bankruptcies in our sample.

JEL-codes: D14 G22 I11 I13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.20161038
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (184)

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Working Paper: The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions (2018)
Working Paper: The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions (2016)
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