Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
When new bills pass in Congress or state legislatures that expand health insurance coverage, most researcher look at the demand side effect. How does the insurance expansion affect the number uninsured? How does it affect access to care? How does it affect out of pocket cost? What is less frequently studied is the supply side…
In the news, you often hear that there are shortages of nurses and physicians. We need more nurses and physicians, right? According to an editorial by Laurence Baker in Health Services Review, we should be a little skeptical of calls for more and more healthcare providers. If supplier-induced demand is a problem, more providers will…
Most public health officials believe that increasing the supply of primary care doctors is almost always a good thing, while increasing the number of specialists can have mixed results. One problem is that physician supply is endogenous. One may believe that physicians prefer to locate in wealthier areas. If wealthier people are also healthier, then…