The Impacts of Physician Payments on Patient Access, Use, and Health

Diane Alexander and Molly Schnell

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2024, vol. 16, issue 3, 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.

JEL-codes: G22 H51 I11 I13 I18 I38 J44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Working Paper: The Impacts of Physician Payments on Patient Access, Use, and Health (2019)
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DOI: 10.1257/app.20210227

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