PHYSICIANS' COST SHIFTING BEHAVIOR: MEDICAID VERSUS OTHER PATIENTS

Much of the debate about rising health care costs in the United States centers on the notion of "cost shifting." Cost shifting is loosely defined as charging one set of patients a higher price to offset losses on another set of patients. One aspect of the cost shifting debate that the empirical work has ignored is whether or not doctors-as opposed to hospitals-practice cost shifting. The analysis here investigates this question using the Physicians' Practice Costs and Income Survey, 1983-1985 (PPCIS, expanded version) Copyright 1997 Western Economic Association International.