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The Effectiveness of Health Screening

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  • Franz Hackl
  • Martin Halla
  • Michael Hummer
  • Gerald J. Pruckner

Abstract

Using a matched insurant–general practitioner panel data set, we estimate the effect of a general health‐screening program on individuals' health status and health‐care cost. To account for selection into treatment, we use regional variation in the intensity of exposure to supply‐determined screening recommendations as an instrumental variable. We find that screening participation increases inpatient and outpatient health‐care costs up to 2 years after treatment substantially. In the medium run, we find cost savings in the outpatient sector, whereas in the long run, no statistically significant effects of screening on either health‐care cost component can be discerned. In sum, screening participation increases health‐care cost. Given that we do not find any statistically significant effect of screening participation on insurants' health status (at any point in time), we do not recommend a general health‐screening program. However, given that we find some evidence for cost‐saving potential for the sub‐sample of younger insurants, we suggest more targeted screening programs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Franz Hackl & Martin Halla & Michael Hummer & Gerald J. Pruckner, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Health Screening," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(8), pages 913-935, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:24:y:2015:i:8:p:913-935
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3072
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    2. Gerald J. Pruckner & Thomas Schober & Katrin Zocher, 2020. "The company you keep: health behavior among work peers," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(2), pages 251-259, March.
    3. Cheolmin Kang & Akira Kawamura & Haruko Noguchi, 2021. "Benefits of knowing own health status: effects of health check-ups on health behaviours and labour participation," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(11), pages 926-931, June.
    4. Senay Topal & Patrick Richard & John Young & Anuradha Ganesan & Todd Gleeson & Jason Blaylock & Jason F. Okulicz & Xiuping Chu & Brian K. Agan, 2024. "Mandated checkups, knowledge of own health status, and chronic care utilization: The effect of HIV medical evaluation mandates on healthcare quality and expenditure in a US‐single payer system," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 59-81, January.
    5. Kim, Hyuncheol Bryant & Lee, Suejin & Lim, Wilfredo, 2017. "Knowing Is Not Half the Battle: Impacts of the National Health Screening Program in Korea," IZA Discussion Papers 10650, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Nadine Chami & Arthur Sweetman, 2019. "Payment models in primary health care: A driver of the quantity and quality of medical laboratory utilization," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(10), pages 1166-1178, October.
    7. Norman Bannenberg & Oddvar Førland & Tor Iversen & Martin Karlsson & Henning Øien, 2021. "Preventive Home Visits," American Journal of Health Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(4), pages 457-496.
    8. Oikawa, M., 2020. "The effect of education on health policy reform: Evidence from Japan," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 20/08, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    9. Masato Oikawa & Takamasa Yamaguchi & Toshihide Awatani & Haruko Noguchi & Akira Kawamura, 2024. "Impacts of health checkup programs standardization on working-age self-employed and unemployed: Insights from Japan’s local government response to national policy," Working Papers 2406, Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
    10. Jakub Sopko, 2020. "An overview of selected risk factors for health in OECD countries," Proceedings of Economics and Finance Conferences 10913074, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    11. Gerald J. Pruckner & Flora Stiftinger & Katrin Zocher, 2024. "When women take over: Physician gender and health care provision," Economics working papers 2024-04, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.

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    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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