Federalism and regional health care expeditures

Crivelli , Luca; Filippini, Massimo; Mosca, Ilaria

doi:10.1002/hec.1072

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Journal article

Federalism and regional health care expeditures : an empirical analysis for the Swiss cantons

Crivelli , Luca Istituto microeconomia e economia pubblica (MecoP), Facoltà di scienze economiche, Università della Svizzera italiana, Svizzera
Filippini, Massimo Istituto microeconomia e economia pubblica (MecoP), Facoltà di scienze economiche, Università della Svizzera italiana, Svizzera
Mosca, Ilaria Istituto microeconomia e economia pubblica (MecoP), Facoltà di scienze economiche, Università della Svizzera italiana, Svizzera

2006

Published in:

Health Economics. - John Wiley & Sons Ltd.. - 2006, vol. 15, no. 5, p. 535-541

English Switzerland (7.2 million inhabitants) is a federal state composed of 26 cantons. The autonomy of cantons and a particular health insurance system create strong heterogeneity in terms of regulation and organisation of health care services. In this study we use a single equation approach to model the per-capita cantonal expenditures on health care services and postulate that per-capita health expenditures depend on some economic, demographic and structural factors. The empirical analysis demonstrates that a larger share of old people tends to increase health costs and that physicians paid on a fee-for-service basis swell expenditures, thus highlighting a possible phenomenon of supply induced demand.

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