This paper presents new international comparative evidence on the factors driving inequalities in the use of GP and specialist services in 12 EU member states. The data are taken from the 1996 wave of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). We examine two types of utilisation (the...

This paper provides new evidence on the sources of differences in the degree of income-related inequalities in self-assessed health in 13 European Union member states. It goes beyond earlier work by measuring health using an interval regression approach to compute concentration indices and by...

This paper aims to add a more intuitive understanding to the concept of a concentration index for measuring relative inequality with an application of health-related measures by income. A new redistribution interpretation and an existing redistribution interpretation of the Gini are presented...

Consumer channeling is an important element in the insurer-provider bargaining process. Health insurers can influence provider choice by offering insurance contracts with restricted provider networks. Alternatively, they can offer contracts with unrestricted access and use incentives to motivate...

We estimate the determinants of utilisation of physician and hospital services in Belgium using a one- and two-part panel count data model, and a one- and two-part pooled count data model. We conclude that the two-part panel count data model is most appropriate as it controls for unobserved...

The effects of supplemental health insurance on health-care consumption crucially depend on specific institutional features of the health-care system. We analyse the situation in Belgium, a country with a very broad coverage in compulsory social health insurance and where supplemental insurance...

This paper outlines a framework for comparing empirically overall health inequality and socioeconomic health inequality. The framework, which is developed for both individual-level data and grouped data, is illustrated using data on malnutrition amongst Vietnamese children and on health utility...