Innovation and Health Inequality: Evidence from Direct-Acting Antivirals

Kevin Callison, Michael Darden and Keith Teltser

No 33735, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We study disparities in liver transplant allocation when innovation alleviates the scarcity of organs. When direct-acting antivirals for Hepatitis C (HCV) reduced HCV+ liver demand, we show a disproportionate increase in White HCV- liver transplants (56.6%) relative to Black HCV- transplants (11.9%). The time to transplant decreased (31.1%), and the transplant rate increased (19.5pp), only for White HCV- patients. Our results are surprising because liver health is the primary determinant of transplant priority and marginal White patients were of better liver health. We show more similar gains when we focus on privately insured patients and/or areas with more Black patients.

JEL-codes: I10 I11 I14 O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-05
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