In the US healthcare system, patients of different socio-economic status (SES) often receive disparate treatment for similar conditions. Prior work documents this phenomenon for particular treatments/conditions, but we take a system-wide view and examine socioeconomic disparities in spending for...

We present results from a nationally representative survey of American adults, guided by a simple theoretical model expressing health care-seeking behavior as a function of economic and behavioral fundamentals and highlighting the role of trust. We report several findings. First, we document a...

One explanation for insufficient use of primary care in the U.S. is a lack of trust between patients and providers - particularly along racial lines. We assess the role of racial concordance between patients and medical providers in driving use of preventive care and the implications for patient...

The paper studies the incentive for providers to invest in new health care technologies under alternative payment systems, when the patients' benefits are uncertain. If the reimbursement by the purchaser includes both a variable (per patient) and a lump-sum component, efficiency can be ensured...

This paper compares health care systems. It looks beyond normal academic, political, or journalistic rhetoric, by exactly sticking to facts, i.e. empirical data (in particular data provided by the WHO) and comprehensive case study analyses. The paper finds that a number of myths and common...

Collective lobbying organizations and some big companies showed up as cautious partners in the design of the Affordable Care Act. In addition of being consulted by executives, they intensively lobbied legislators. The qualitative and statistical analysis I conduct here shows a positive impact of...

This paper provides a critique of the U.S. Health Care system compared to other OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations and extends the work of previous research in four ways. First, we identify which OECD countries have better longevity outcomes than other OECD...

Firms often exploit loopholes in government contracts to boost revenues. The welfare consequences of this behavior depend on how firms use the marginal windfall dollar, yet little evidence exists to guide policymakers. This paper studies how hospitals allocated over $3 billion obtained from...

We use a sample of OECD countries in order to better understand why the US health care expenditure as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product ("health care effort") is so far above any other. To this end we employ a descriptive cross-country methodology based partially on econometric...

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the United States healthcare system, resulting in major disruptions in the delivery of essential care and causing crippling financial losses that threaten the viability of millions of medical practices. There is little empirical evidence on the types...