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The Aggregate Effects of Health Insurance: Evidence from the Introduction of Medicare

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  • Amy Finkelstein

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of market-wide changes in health insurance by examining the single largest change in health insurance coverage in American history: the introduction of Medicare in 1965. I estimate that the impact of Medicare on hospital spending is substantially larger than what the existing evidence from individual-level changes in health insurance would have predicted. Consistent with a disproportionately larger impact of aggregate changes in health insurance, the evidence suggests that the introduction of Medicare altered the practice of medicine. For example, I find that the introduction of Medicare is associated with an increase in the rate of adoption of then-new medical technologies. A back of the envelope calculation based on the estimated impact of Medicare suggests that the overall spread of health insurance between 1950 and 1990 may be able to explain at least forty percent of the increase in real per capita health spending over this time period.

Suggested Citation

  • Amy Finkelstein, 2005. "The Aggregate Effects of Health Insurance: Evidence from the Introduction of Medicare," NBER Working Papers 11619, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11619
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    13. Amy Finkelstein & Robin McKnight, 2005. "What Did Medicare Do (And Was It Worth It)?," NBER Working Papers 11609, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. He, Huajing & Nolen, Patrick J., 2019. "The effect of health insurance reform: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 168-179.
    2. Daron Acemoglu & Amy Finkelstein, 2008. "Input and Technology Choices in Regulated Industries: Evidence from the Health Care Sector," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(5), pages 837-880, October.
    3. Daron Acemoglu & David Cutler & Amy Finkelstein & Joshua Linn, 2006. "Did Medicare Induce Pharmaceutical Innovation?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 103-107, May.
    4. John F. Cogan & R. Glenn Hubbard & Daniel P. Kessler, 2007. "Evaluating Effects of Tax Preferences on Health Care Spending and Federal Revenues," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 21, pages 65-82, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Finocchiaro Castro, Massimo & Guccio, Calogero & Pignataro, Giacomo & Rizzo, Ilde, 2014. "The effects of reimbursement mechanisms on medical technology diffusion in the hospital sector in the Italian NHS," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 215-229.
    6. Amy Finkelstein & Robin McKnight, 2005. "What Did Medicare Do (And Was It Worth It)?," NBER Working Papers 11609, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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