The Impact of Financial Assistance Programs on Health Care Utilization: Evidence from Kaiser Permanente

Alyce Adams, Raymond Kluender, Neale Mahoney, Jinglin Wang, Francis Wong and Wesley Yin

American Economic Review: Insights, 2022, vol. 4, issue 3, 389-407

Abstract: Most hospitals have financial assistance programs for low-income patients. We use administrative data from Kaiser Permanente to study the effects of financial assistance on health care utilization. Using a regression discontinuity design based on an income threshold for program eligibility, we find that financial assistance increases the likelihood of inpatient, ambulatory, and emergency department encounters by 3.6 pp (59 percent), 13.4 pp (20 percent), and 6.7 pp (53 percent), respectively, though effects dissipate three quarters after program receipt. Financial assistance also increases the detection and management of treatment-sensitive conditions (e.g., drugs treating diabetes), suggesting that financial assistance may increase receipt of high-value care.

JEL-codes: G51 I11 I12 I13 I32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20210515

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