Public and Private Options in Practice: The Military Health System

Michael D. Frakes, Jonathan Gruber and Timothy Justicz

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2023, vol. 15, issue 4, 37-74

Abstract: Recent debates over health care reform, including in the context of the Military Health System (MHS) and Veterans Administration, highlight the dispute between public and private provision of health care services. Using novel data on childbirth claims from the MHS and drawing on the combination of plausibly exogenous patient moves and heterogeneity across bases in the availability of base hospitals, we identify the impact of receiving obstetrical care on versus off military bases. We find evidence that off-base care is associated with slightly greater resource intensity, but also notably better outcomes, suggesting marginal efficiency gains from care privatization.

JEL-codes: H51 H56 I11 I18 J13 L33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1257/pol.20210625

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