The aim of this work is to identify the determinants of health spending differentials among Italian regions, which could highlight the existence of potential margins for savings. The analysis exploits a dataset for the panel of the 21 Italian regions starting in the early 1990s and ending in...

The “state of the art” in forecasting long run medical spending is assessed in models used by CMS, CBO, and the Society of Actuaries. Tracking medical expenditures by nominal dollar growth and real per capita spending are useful, yet focusing on the share (of wages, laborforce, or GDP)...

As the forecasting perspective changes from short to medium to long run, the appropriate measure of health spending and the choice of which variables to hold constant, and which to include, changes. In the short run, current dollar spending is the best unit, and the primary factors affecting...

This paper updates the mortality cost of expenditures. Because changes in income lead to changes in mortality risk, regulatory expenditures costing more per life saved than a threshold cost-per-life saved cutoff level are expected to increase mortality risk. This article discusses the mechanisms...

Some commentators estimate that up to a third of U.S. medical spending may be wasted. This study focuses on the decision to hospitalize elderly Medicare patients who present at the emergency room (ER) with respiratory conditions. Failing to hospitalize sick patients could have dire consequences....

The JPMorgan Chase Institute set out to understand families' out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures and the financial burden they imposed on families over time. Building off a de-identified sample of 4.7 million families with Chase checking accounts, we extended the JPMorgan Chase Institute...

Objectives:This study evaluated the extent to which the causes of variation in health care costs differ by the level at which observations are made.Methods:More than 40 U.S. and international studies providing empirical estimates of the sources of variation in health care costs were reviewed and...

This paper examines the savings needed to cover health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for health care services in retirement and evaluates the use of health savings accounts (HSAs) to save for those expenses. Proponents of HSAs often tout them as a vehicle for funding future...

Background. Diabetic chronic foot ulcers lead to pain, discomfort and represent a severe economic burden for patients and health systems. The increasing prevalence in diabetes, will lead a higher incidence and costs for Diabetic chronic foot ulcers in next years. Conventional treatment have a...

The apparently unrelenting growth in the GDP-share of health spending (SHS) has been a perennial issue of policy concern. Does an equilibrium limit exist? The issue has been left open in recent dynamic models which take income growth and population aging as given. We view these variables as...