Social health insurance is a healthcare financing model in which individuals contribute funds to a common pool that covers healthcare services for all members of society. By examining the spillovers of social health insurance expansion, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the costs and benefits of the reform. Leveraging Medicare Part D in the USA, this thesis focuses on the spillovers of social health insurance expansion for prescription drugs. I investigate two aspects of the spillovers. First, I examine how increased social insurance coverage for prescription drugs affects the price, welfare, and demand for drugs among the uncovered population. Second, I investigate how hospitalization rates change for the covered population. Results indicate that Part D led to an average reduction of 4.5% in the list (retail) prices of prescription drugs for the uncovered population. As a result, there was a corresponding increase in welfare equivalent to 61.4 USD per individual per year. Although the per capita consumption of highly effective drugs, opioids, and antibiotics increased by an average of 11.9 daily recommended doses annually, this did not result in an increase in drug overdoses among these classes. Hospitalization rates and expenditure decreased for the covered population with angina, emphysema, and high cholesterol, yet increased for those with arthritis.
Spillovers of social health insurance expansion: evidence from U.S. Medicare Part D
Yue, C. (Author). 20 Jun 2023
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)