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The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions

Author

Listed:
  • Dobkin, Carlos
  • Finkelstein, Amy
  • Kluender, Raymond
  • Notowidigdo, Matthew J
Abstract
We use an event study approach to examine the economic consequences of hospital admissions for adults in two datasets: survey data from the Health and Retirement Study, and hospitalization data linked to credit reports. For non-elderly adults with health insurance, hospital admissions increase out-of-pocket medical spending, unpaid medical bills and bankruptcy, and reduce earnings, income, access to credit and consumer borrowing. The earnings decline is substantial compared to the out-of-pocket spending increase, and is minimally insured prior to age-eligibility for Social Security Retirement Income. Relative to the insured non-elderly, the uninsured non-elderly experience much larger increases in unpaid medical bills and bankruptcy rates following a hospital admission. Hospital admissions trigger less than 5 percent of all bankruptcies.

Suggested Citation

  • Dobkin, Carlos & Finkelstein, Amy & Kluender, Raymond & Notowidigdo, Matthew J, 2018. "The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt3m71z8vr, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt3m71z8vr
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Patient Safety; Basic Behavioral and Social Science; Clinical Research; Aging; Behavioral and Social Science; Generic health relevance; Adult; Bankruptcy; Demography; Financing; Personal; Hospitalization; Humans; Insurance; Health; Medically Uninsured; Middle Aged; Patient Admission; United States; D14; Health insurance; I10; I13; bankruptcy; consumer finance; consumption smoothing; Economics; Commerce; Management; Tourism and Services;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private

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