Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for drugs has increased from US$200 million in 1997 to US$4 billion in 2011. While studies show that DTCA impacts the patient-physician relationship, little is known of the effect of DTCA on health insurance markets. We test whether DTCA raises the costs in...

When working together, people engage in non-contractual and informal interactions that constitute the sociology of the group. We use behavioral models and a unique survey of medical groups to analyze how group sociology influences physician incentive pay and behavior. We conclude that informal...

"The NBER Bulletin on Aging and Health provides summaries of publications like this. You can sign up to receive the NBER Bulletin on Aging and Health by email. We estimate the impact of diabetic drug adherence on hospitalizations, ER visits, and hospital costs, using insurance claims from...