This paper presents a dynamic general equilibrium model designed to examine the macroeconomic effects and welfare implications of alternative reforms to the US health insurance system. Specifically, it scrutinizes the extent to which health care reform can mitigate inefficiencies stemming from...

This country report provides a description of the emergence of a health care system under public responsibility in Cuba. The inception of the health care system refers to the first legislation stipulating entitlements to medical care. The report also includes a brief description of major health...

This country report provides a description of the emergence of a health care system under public responsibility in Serbia. The inception of the health care system refers to the first legislation stipulating entitlements to medical care. The report also includes a brief description of major...

This paper estimates the effect of a reform-induced increase in the early retirement age (ERA) on labor supply, health, and healthcare utilization using detailed Danish administrative data and a regression discontinuity design. We show that while raising the ERA successfully increased...

Health care costs in the U.S. have grown dramatically over the past several decades, with one possible cause being physicians providing unnecessary services out of fear of being sued for malpractice - a phenomenon known as "defensive medicine". States responded by enacting different types of...

We estimate the impact of an increase in the early retirement age (ERA) on labor supply, health, and healthcare use using a regression discontinuity design. Raising the ERA increased employment and use of public transfers. Effects on GP visits and painkiller use are precisely estimated, small,...

A vast literature studies the behavioral impacts of health care reforms, often coming to controversial conclusions. Here we examine the time allocation effects of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care, focusing on two pillars, namely Medicaid expansion, which increased access to...

We investigate how the use of bankruptcy as an implicit health insurance varies across households, focusing on heterogeneity by asset holdings, race, marital status, and educational attainment. Using a difference-in-differences design based on the 2005 bankruptcy reform, we find that the reform...

Background China started a pilot public hospital reform in 2012 to improve governance and efficiency in healthcare services delivery among county-level hospitals. This study aims to investigate the impact of the pilot reform on hospital efficiency and productivity by using a unique dataset of...

Background The diagnosis-intervention packet (DIP) payment reform, utilizing big data for patient classification and payment standardization, was initially developed and piloted in China. Guangzhou, the pilot mega-city, rolled out DIP payment reform in 2018 to regulate medical expenditures. We...

Healthcare access and service delivery quality have been a persistent challenge in Lesotho. The COVID-19 pandemic has added new challenges and opportunities for change. Among those changes is the need to include digital health solutions and think about how new digital health interventions can...

This report focuses on Japan's experiences to showcase how the country incrementally strengthened the resilience of its health system by enhancing its capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises, drawing valuable lessons from its experience of major earthquakes, floods, and...

This country report provides a description of the emergence of a health care system under public responsibility in Mexico. The inception of the health care system refers to the first legislation stipulating entitlements to medical care. The report also includes a brief description of major...

The Universal Health Care (UHC) Act of 2019 introduces comprehensive reforms to address longstanding demand and supply constraints in the Philippine health system. Key reform areas include shifting provider payment mechanisms of PhilHealth to a global budget and expanding primary healthcare...

Unequal access to healthcare and inadequate financing have highlighted the need for healthcare reform to increase efficiency while ensuring equity in healthcare financing worldwide. Our study evaluates the capacity of Kazakhstan’s healthcare system reform, transitioning from a tax-financed...

This study analyses the conditions under which co-opetition improves the supply of healthcare services in Benin. Using non-centralised administrative data from a sample of public and private health centres, we apply network theory and negative binomial regression to assess the extent to which...

En México se necesitan urgentemente mejoras en los impuestos selectivos al tabaco, las bebidas alcohólicas y las bebidas azucaradas para reducir las muertes prematuras evitables. En México, 125,350 personas pierden la vida anualmente debido al uso de estos productos. Más allá de los efectos...

Andorra has the highest life expectancy and the lowest fertility rate in Europe, resulting in one of the fastest-aging populations on the continent. This study assesses the long-term fiscal implications of demographic change for Andorra's pension and healthcare systems. Without reform, public...

Historic underinvestment, coupled with a growing and ageing population, has led to capacity constraints in public acute hospitals in Ireland. This is evidenced by ageing infrastructure, large waiting lists and long waiting times for elective treatment, as well as pressure on unscheduled care...

This study examines the health impacts of a large-scale internal migration reform in China. Using nationally representative data from the China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey (2012-2018) and a unique dataset on city-level policy intensity and adoption timing, we employ a triple-difference approach...

This country report provides a description of the emergence of a health care system under public responsibility in Slovenia. The inception of the health care system refers to the first legislation stipulating entitlements to medical care. The report also includes a brief description of major...

This country report provides a description of the emergence of a health care system under public responsibility in Morocco. The inception of the health care system refers to the first legislation stipulating entitlements to medical care. The report also includes a brief description of major...

Die Sozialabgaben in Deutschland haben mit 42 % die einst als unüberschreitbar geltende "Haltelinie" von 40 % bereits deutlich überschritten. Besonders dramatisch entwickeln sich die Zusatzbeiträge der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung (GKV): von 1,7 % im Jahr 2024 auf aktuell 2,9 % im zweiten...

Background: Hospital capacity planning can help to balance quality, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility of inpatient services. Achieving all three objectives equally is complex and requires a balanced and targeted approach. Moreover, the implementation of a national reform in this field in...

Hospital readmissions are often used to measure quality and continuity of care within health systems. In 2024, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) removed its Single Period Confinement (SPC) Rule, a longstanding policy that denied reimbursements for readmissions within 90...

Fraud in social health insurance results in inefficient use of government resources and diverts funds away from paying for necessary health care needs and subsidizing the poor. We conducted a process evaluation of the fraud control mechanisms of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation...

Background The mismatch of medical resources is a significant issue in global healthcare, undermining both service accessibility and system efficiency. In China, despite the implementation of the "Healthy China" strategy, persistent mismatches remain due to factors such as industrialization,...

Background The Statutory Health Insurance scheme is one of two main schemes of health care system financing in Europe. This scheme mainly relies on wage-based contributions from employers and employees and is thus prone to business cycle fluctuations. This turned out to be a problem especially...

We estimate the effects of the Comprehensive Medical Reform (CMR), a large-scale and comprehensive health care system reform in China, on medical burden and health status. Leveraging a time-varying difference-in-differences methodology and utilizing microdata from the Chinese Family Panel Study...