Area Differences in Utilization of Medical Care and Mortality Among U.S. Elderly / Victor R. Fuchs, Mark McClellan, Jonathan Skinner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fuchs, Victor R.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

McClellan, Mark.

Skinner, Jonathan.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8628.

NBER working paper series no. w8628

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2001.

Summary:

This paper examines 313 U.S. areas for differences in medical care utilization and mortality of whites ages 65-84 in 1990. The variables included in the analysis are education, real income, cigarette sales, obesity, air pollution, percent black, and dummy variables for seven regions and five population size categories from MSAs over 500,000 to not in MSA. Utilization, especially inpatient care, is strongly positively related to mortality. Mortality is positively related to cigarette sales, obesity, air pollution and percent black. Utilization (especially outpatient) is significantly higher in MSAs with populations greater than 500,000. Mortality does not vary with population size, with or without controls. Florida is an outlier for both utilization (very high) and mortality (by far the lowest of any region). The puzzles of Floridian exceptionalism and the positive relation between white mortality and percent black are discussed but not resolved.

Notes:

Print version record

December 2001.