Quality improvement collaboratives have become a common strategy for improving health care. This paper uses social network analysis to study the relationships among organizations participating in a large scale public–private collaboration among major health plans to reduce racial and...

This paper examines the nature of pharmacy retail distribution in several different countries. Evidence in the market place supports the view that innovations in distribution technology are or could be plentiful; conversely, because of institutional rigidities bolstered by law, retail...

There is ample evidence that bereavement is associated with heightened mortality. Regardless of whether this strong association is truly causal, little is known about the factors contributing to it. This study begins to unpack the black box of the bereavement–mortality puzzle by investigating...

Financing is the most crucial part of the of the health care service delivery system and health care finance is one of the most critical factor contributing in the poverty scenario of any country. In developing countries like India where the health system should be more equitable and cost...

Public providers have no financial incentive to respect their legal obligation to exempt the poor from user fees. Health Equity Funds (HEFs) aim to make exemptions effective by giving NGOs responsibility for assessing eligibility and compensating providers for lost revenue. We use the geographic...

This paper examines how priority setting in health care expenditures is influenced by the presence of uncertainty about the severity of the illness and the effectiveness of medical treatment. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions on social preferences under which a social planner will...

We analyze the determinants of caesarean sections and the role that regional policies and institutions can play in controlling for inappropriateness in healthcare. We consider Italy as a case study, given that: at the national level caesarean sections are above OECD average but regional...

We examine whether state government responses to rising Medicaid costs cause reduced low income assistance, overall state budget cuts, or higher taxes. We segment Medicaid recipient groups into families, the disabled, and the elderly. Using GMM estimation, we instrument for endogenous program...

We estimate the impact on out-of-pocket (OOP) medical expenditure of a major reform in Thailand that greatly extended health insurance coverage to achieve universality while implementing supply-side measures intended to deliver cost-effective care from an increased, but modest, public health...

This paper analyzes the regulation of payment schemes for health care providers competing in both quality and product differentiation of their services. The regulator uses two instruments: a prospective payment per patient and a cost reimbursement rate. When the regulator can only use a...