Sources of Geographic Variation in Health Care: Evidence From Patient Migration*
Open accessAbstract
We study the drivers of geographic variation in U.S. health care utilization, using an empirical strategy that exploits migration of Medicare patients to separate the role of demand and supply factors. Our approach allows us to account for demand differences driven by both observable and unobservable patient characteristics. Within our sample of over-65 Medicare beneficiaries, we find that 40–50% of geographic variation in utilization is attributable to demand-side factors, including health and preferences, with the remainder due to place-specific supply factors.
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Finkelstein, Gentzkow, and Williams (2016) track Medicare patients who move across regions with different intensities of medical usage.
“For example, Finkelstein, Gentzkow, and Williams (2016) track Medicare patients who move across regions with different intensities of medical usage.”
From An Introductory Guide to Event Study Models (2023) · cites this paper as Finkelstein, Gentzkow, and Williams (2016)
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Cited by
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An Introductory Guide to Event Study Models
Miller, D. L. (2023) · Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/jep.37.2.203 · Cited by 360 · see citing works
The cost of the diagnostic odyssey of patients with suspected rare diseases
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- Authors
- Finkelstein, A., Gentzkow, M., & Williams, H.
- Affiliations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
- Venue
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2016-07-19
- Volume
- 131
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1681-1726
- ISSN
- 0033-5533 (ISSN-L)
- 1531-4650
- PMC
- PMC5243120
- OpenAlex
- W1540376033
- Cited by
- 500
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 32 · 2025: 57 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 83 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 64 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 71.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG032449, R37AG032449)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Healthcare Policy and Management
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Global Health Care Issues
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Emergency Medical Services › Global Health Workforce Issues
- Keywords
- Medicare beneficiaries, patient migration, health care demand, health care supply, patient preferences, older adults, health care utilization
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