RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH‐CARE UTILIZATION: ANALYSIS BY INTENSITY OF DEMAND

Xiaoyong Zheng () and David Zimmer

Contemporary Economic Policy, 2009, vol. 27, issue 4, 475-490

Abstract: Health‐care utilization is estimated for different subpopulations with respect to various measures of health status, which allows the classification of health‐care consumers into groups with different intensities of demand. This specification allows us to determine whether racial differences vary between subgroups of consumers. In addition to blacks, we also consider utilization by Hispanics. The model is estimated separately for five measures of utilization: office‐based physician visits, office‐based nonphysician visits, outpatient department visits, emergency room visits, and hospital discharges using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Results across numerous specifications indicate that racial differences remain a serious public policy concern, both among healthy and unhealthy minorities. (JEL I11, I12)

Date: 2009
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