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Health and Utilization Effects of Increased Access to Publicly Provided Health Care: Evidence from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

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  • Melissa Boyle

    (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross)

Abstract

During the mid-1990s, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs overhauled its health care system in an attempt to increase quality and efficiency. The restructuring involved the adoption of a capitated payment system and treatment methods based on the managed care model. This reorganization was accompanied by a major expansion in the population eligible to receive VA care. Using the National Health Interview Survey and VA medical claims data, this study analyzes both the efficiency of providing public health care in a managed care setting and the effectiveness of expanding coverage to healthier and wealthier populations. I estimate that between 35 and 70 percent of new take-up of VA care was the result of individuals dropping private health insurance. While utilization of services increased, estimates of the impact on aggregate veteran health imply that the policy change did not result in net health improvements. Regions providing more care to healthier, newly-eligible veterans had bigger reductions in hospital care and larger increases in outpatient services for previously-eligible veterans. This shift away from specialty care may help to explain the aggregate health declines.

Suggested Citation

  • Melissa Boyle, 2009. "Health and Utilization Effects of Increased Access to Publicly Provided Health Care: Evidence from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs," Working Papers 0902, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hcx:wpaper:0902
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    File URL: https://hcapps.holycross.edu/hcs/RePEc/hcx/HC0902-Boyle_VeteransHealthCare.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eze, Pius & Wolfe, Barbara, 1993. "Is dumping socially inefficient? : An analysis of the effect of Medicare's prospective payment system on the utilization of Veterans Affairs inpatient services," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 329-344, October.
    2. Duggan, Mark, 2004. "Does contracting out increase the efficiency of government programs? Evidence from Medicaid HMOs," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(12), pages 2549-2572, December.
    3. David M. Cutler & Louise Sheiner, 1998. "Managed Care and the Growth of Medical Expenditures," NBER Chapters, in: Frontiers in Health Policy Research, Volume 1, pages 77-116, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. David M. Cutler & Jonathan Gruber, 1996. "Does Public Insurance Crowd out Private Insurance?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(2), pages 391-430.
    5. Kajal Lahiri & Guibo Xing, 2002. "An Empirical Analysis of Medicare-eligible Veterans' Demand for Outpatient Health Care Services," Discussion Papers 02-01, University at Albany, SUNY, Department of Economics.
    6. David M. Cutler & Mark McClellan & Joseph P. Newhouse, 2000. "How Does Managed Care Do It?," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 31(3), pages 526-548, Autumn.
    7. McClellan, Mark & Cutler, David & Newhous, Joseph P., 2000. "How Does Managed Care Do It?," Scholarly Articles 2643884, Harvard University Department of Economics.
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    Cited by:

    1. Boyle, Melissa A. & Lahey, Joanna N., 2016. "Spousal labor market effects from government health insurance: Evidence from a veterans affairs expansion," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 63-76.
    2. Amanda C. Stype, 2022. "Health Insurance Patterns of Older Veterans: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-12, July.
    3. Boyle, Melissa A. & Lahey, Joanna N., 2010. "Health insurance and the labor supply decisions of older workers: Evidence from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expansion," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(7-8), pages 467-478, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Medicare; elderly; veteran; VA healthcare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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