Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Health Economics

Affording to Wait: Medicare Initiation and the Use of Health Care

By: Guy David, Philip Saynisch, Victoria Acevado-Perez and Mark D. Neuman
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Delays in receipt of necessary diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures related to the timing of Medicare initiation at age 65 years have potentially broad welfare implications. We use 2005–2007 data from Florida and North Carolina to estimate the effect of initiation of Medicare benefits on healthcare utilization across procedures that differ in urgency and coverage. In particular, we study trends in the use of elective procedures covered by Medicare to treat conditions that vary in symptoms; these are compared with elective surgical procedures not eligible for Medicare reimbursement, and to a set of urgent and emergent procedures. We find large discontinuities in health services utilization at age 65 years concentrated among low-urgency, Medicare-reimbursable procedures, most pronounced among screening interventions and treatments for minimally symptomatic disease.

Keywords

Medicare; Behavior; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance Industry; Public Administration Industry; Health Industry; North Carolina; Florida

Citation

David, Guy, Philip Saynisch, Victoria Acevado-Perez, and Mark D. Neuman. "Affording to Wait: Medicare Initiation and the Use of Health Care." Health Economics 21, no. 8 (August 2012): 1030–1036.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Purchase

More from the Authors

    • May 2018
    • Journal of Health Economics

    The Economics of Patient-Centered Care

    By: Guy David, Philip Saynisch and Aaron Smith-McLallen
    • Lancet

    Assessment of Economic Vulnerability to Infectious Disease Crises

    By: Peter A Sands, Anas El Turabi, Philip Saynisch and Victor J Dzau
    • Health Services Research

    Do Patient-centered Medical Homes Reduce Emergency Department Visits?

    By: Guy David, Candace Gunnarsson, Philip Saynisch, Ravi Chawla and Somesh Nigam
More from the Authors
  • The Economics of Patient-Centered Care By: Guy David, Philip Saynisch and Aaron Smith-McLallen
  • Assessment of Economic Vulnerability to Infectious Disease Crises By: Peter A Sands, Anas El Turabi, Philip Saynisch and Victor J Dzau
  • Do Patient-centered Medical Homes Reduce Emergency Department Visits? By: Guy David, Candace Gunnarsson, Philip Saynisch, Ravi Chawla and Somesh Nigam
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.