Public coverage of dental care: universal or targeted?
Kurt Brekke (),
Odd Rune Straume and
Luigi Siciliani ()
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Luigi Siciliani: Department of Economics and Related Studies, University of York, Heslington, York
No 2/2025, NIPE Working Papers from NIPE - Universidade do Minho
Abstract:
This paper analyses the impact of public dental care coverage - universal versus targeted- on access, pricing, and public spending in a model with two competing dental practices and heterogeneous patient income groups. We evaluate two types of reimbursement schemes: fixed subsidies and cost sharing. Our findings show that public coverage improves access for low-income patients but increases producer prices due to reduced price elasticity of demand. Targeted coverage provides greater access at lower public cost compared to universal coverage, especially under cost-sharing schemes. With fixed subsidies, both schemes achieve similar access, but targeted coverage remains more cost-efficient. The policy that maximises utilitarian welfare is targeted coverage with a fixed subsidy, balancing improved access for low-income patients against higher prices for high-income patients. This trade-off highlights challenges in implementing targeted policies but provides insights for designing efficient and equitable public dental care systems.
Keywords: Dental care; Public coverage; Reimbursement schemes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H51 I11 I18 L13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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https://hdl.handle.net/1822/94830 (application/pdf)
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Working Paper: Public coverage of dental care: universal or targeted? (2025) 
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nip:nipewp:2/2025
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