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Competition, Payer, and Hospital Quality

Author

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  • Gautam Gowrisankaran
  • Robert Town
Abstract
The objective of this study is to estimate the effects of competition for both Medicare and HMO patients on the quality decisions of hospitals in Southern California. We use discharge data from the State of California for the period 1989-1993. The outcome variables are the risk-adjusted hospital mortality rates for pneumonia (estimated by the authors) and acute myocardial infarction (reported by the state of California). Measures of competition are constructed for each hospital and payer type. The competition measures are formulated to mitigate the possibility of endogeneity bias. The study finds that increases in the degree of competition for HMO patients decrease risk-adjusted hospital mortality rates. Conversely, increases in competition for Medicare enrollees are associated with increases in risk-adjusted mortality rates for hospitals. In conjunction with previous research, the estimates indicate that increasing competition for HMO patients appears to reduce prices and save lives and hence appears to improve welfare. However, increases in competition for Medicare appear to reduce quality and may reduce welfare. Increasing competition has little net effect on hospital quality for our sample.

Suggested Citation

  • Gautam Gowrisankaran & Robert Town, 2002. "Competition, Payer, and Hospital Quality," NBER Working Papers 9206, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9206
    Note: EH PR
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Motta, Massimo, 1993. "Endogenous Quality Choice: Price vs. Quantity Competition," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 113-131, June.
    2. Daniel P. Kessler & Mark B. McClellan, 2000. "Is Hospital Competition Socially Wasteful?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 577-615.
    3. K. Sridhar Moorthy, 1988. "Product and Price Competition in a Duopoly," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(2), pages 141-168.
    4. Gaynor, Martin & Vogt, William B., 2000. "Antitrust and competition in health care markets," Handbook of Health Economics, in: A. J. Culyer & J. P. Newhouse (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 27, pages 1405-1487, Elsevier.
    5. Ho, Vivian & Hamilton, Barton H., 2000. "Hospital mergers and acquisitions: does market consolidation harm patients?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 767-791, September.
    6. Gowrisankaran, Gautam & Town, Robert J., 1999. "Estimating the quality of care in hospitals using instrumental variables," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 747-767, December.
    7. Daniel Kessler & Mark McClellan, 1999. "Designing Hospital Antitrust Policy to Promote Social Welfare," NBER Working Papers 6897, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Chernew, Michael & Gowrisankaran, Gautam & Fendrick, A. Mark, 2002. "Payer type and the returns to bypass surgery: evidence from hospital entry behavior," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 451-474, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Laurent Gobillon & Carine Milcent, 2008. "Regional disparities in mortality by heart attack: evidence from France," Working Papers halshs-00586837, HAL.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance

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