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  • American Economic Review

The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions

By: Carlos Dobkin, Amy Finkelstein, Raymond Kluender and Matthew Notowidigdo
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:45
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Abstract

We use an event study approach to examine the economic consequences of hospital admissions for adults in two datasets: survey data from the Health and Retirement Study, and hospitalization data linked to credit reports. For non-elderly adults with health insurance, hospital admissions increase out-of-pocket medical spending, unpaid medical bills, and bankruptcy, and reduce earnings, income, access to credit, and consumer borrowing. The earnings decline is substantial compared to the out-of-pocket spending increase, and is minimally insured prior to age-eligibility for Social Security Retirement Income. Relative to the insured non-elderly, the uninsured non-elderly experience much larger increases in unpaid medical bills and bankruptcy rates following a hospital admission. Hospital admissions trigger fewer than 5 percent of all bankruptcies in our sample.

Keywords

Personal Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Insurance; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Health Care and Treatment

Citation

Dobkin, Carlos, Amy Finkelstein, Raymond Kluender, and Matthew Notowidigdo. "The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions." American Economic Review 108, no. 2 (February 2018): 308–352.
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About The Author

Raymond P. Kluender

Entrepreneurial Management
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