Hospitals, managed care, and the charity caseload in California

Janet Currie, John Fahr

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

We ask whether increasing HMO penetration causes hospitals to cut back on charity care using California hospital discharge data for 1988-1996. There is little evidence at the hospital level that private hospitals respond to HMOs by turning away uninsured and/or Medicaid patients. In the for-profit sector hospitals actually reduce the share of privately insured patients and increase the shares of Medicare patients and Medicaid births. Apparently, HMO penetration reduces the price paid by privately insured patients, making them relatively less attractive to for-profit hospitals.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)421-442
Number of pages22
JournalJournal of Health Economics
Volume23
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2004
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Health Policy

Keywords

  • Charity caseload
  • Hospital revenues
  • I11
  • I12
  • I18
  • Medicare patients

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