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Is there room for containing healthcare costs? An analysis of regional spending differentials in Italy

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  • Maura Francese
  • Marzia Romanelli

Abstract

This work aims at identifying the determinants of health spending differentials among Italian regions and at highlighting potential margins for savings. The analysis exploits a data set for the 21 Italian regions and autonomous provinces starting in the early 1990s and ending in 2006. After controlling for standard healthcare demand indicators, remaining spending differentials are found to be significant, and they appear to be associated with differences in the degree of appropriateness of treatments, health sector supply structure and social capital indicators. In general, higher regional expenditure does not appear to be associated with better reported or perceived quality in health services. In the regions that display poorer performances, inefficiencies appear not to be uniformly distributed among expenditure items. Overall, results suggest that savings could be achieved without reducing the amount of services provided to citizens. This seems particularly important given the expected rise in spending associated with the forecasted demographic developments. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

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  • Maura Francese & Marzia Romanelli, 2014. "Is there room for containing healthcare costs? An analysis of regional spending differentials in Italy," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 15(2), pages 117-132, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:15:y:2014:i:2:p:117-132
    DOI: 10.1007/s10198-013-0457-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Paolo Mancuso & Vivian Grace Valdmanis, 2016. "Care Appropriateness and Health Productivity Evolution: A Non-Parametric Analysis of the Italian Regional Health Systems," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 595-607, October.
    2. Francese, Maura & Piacenza, Massimiliano & Romanelli, Marzia & Turati, Gilberto, 2014. "Understanding inappropriateness in health spending: The role of regional policies and institutions in caesarean deliveries," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 262-277.
    3. Berta, Paolo & Guerriero, Carla & Levaggi, Rosella, 2021. "Hospitals’ strategic behaviours and patient mobility: Evidence from Italy," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Alessandra Cepparulo & Luisa Giuriato, 2022. "The residential healthcare for the elderly in Italy: some considerations for post-COVID-19 policies," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(4), pages 671-685, June.
    5. Boffardi, Raffaele, 2022. "How efficient is the Italian health system? Evidence on the role of political-institutional dynamics," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Government; Expenditure; Health; Regional inequalities; H51; I1;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health

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