蝌蚪网 Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
The Effects of Medicare on Medical Expenditure Risk and Financial Strain
蝌蚪网 Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 7,
no. 4, November 2015
(pp. 41–70)
Abstract
Medicare offers substantial protection from medical expenditure risk, protection that has increased in recent years. At age 65, out-of-pocket expenditures drop by 33 percent at the mean and 53 percent at the ninety-fifth percentile. Medical-related financial strain, such as difficulty paying bills and collections agency contact, is dramatically reduced. Nonetheless, using a stylized expected utility framework, the gain from reducing out-of-pocket expenditures accounts for only 18 percent of the social costs of financing Medicare. This calculation ignores any direct health benefits from Medicare or any indirect health effects due to reductions in financial stress. (JEL D14, H51, I13, I18, J14)Citation
Barcellos, Silvia Helena, and Mireille Jacobson. 2015. "The Effects of Medicare on Medical Expenditure Risk and Financial Strain." 蝌蚪网 Journal: Economic Policy 7 (4): 41–70. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20140262Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D14 Household Saving; Personal Finance
- H51 National Government Expenditures and Health
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- J14 Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-labor Market Discrimination