Health Insurance Mandates, Mammography, and Breast Cancer Diagnoses / Marianne P. Bitler, Christopher S. Carpenter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bitler, Marianne P.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Carpenter, Christopher S.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w16669.

NBER working paper series no. w16669

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2011.

Summary:

We examine the effects of state health insurance mandates requiring coverage of screening mammograms. We find robust evidence that mammography mandates significantly increased mammography screenings by 4.5-25 percent. Effects are larger for women with less than a high school degree in states that ban deductibles, a policy similar to a provision of federal health reform that eliminates cost-sharing for preventive care. We also find that mandates increased detection of early stage in-situ pre-cancers. Finally, we find a substantial proportion of the increased screenings were attributable to mandates that are not consistent with current recommendations of the American Cancer Society.

Notes:

Print version record

January 2011.