Health Care Spending: Historical Trends and New Directions / Alice Chen, Dana Goldman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chen, Alice.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Goldman, Dana.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w21501.

NBER working paper series no. w21501

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Health Care Spending

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2015.

Summary:

Over the last five decades, broad changes in the US health care system have dramatically influenced growth in health care expenditures. These structural changes have also influenced the trajectory of the health economics research. This paper reviews some of the seminal health economics papers (measured by citations) and identifies the salient factors driving the growth of medical expenditures. We find that the research identified - and was strongly influenced by - four eras of expenditure growth: (1) coverage expansion; (2) experimentation with financial incentives; (3) the managed care backlash; and (4) a golden era of declining expenditure growth. We conclude by discussing some themes from this research suggesting optimism that, going forward, we can curb excess expenditure growth above GDP growth without harming population health.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2015.