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How do Hospitals Respond to Negative Financial Shocks? The Impact of the 2008 Stock Market Crash

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  • David Dranove
  • Craig Garthwaite
  • Christopher Ody

Abstract

The theory of cost-shifting posits that nonprofit hospitals respond to negative financial shocks by raising prices for privately insured patients. We examine how hospitals responded to the sharp reductions in their endowments caused by the 2008 stock market collapse. We find that the average hospital did not engage in cost-shifting, but average hospitals that likely have substantial market power did cost-shift. Investigating further how hospitals responded to the financial setback, we found no evidence of reductions in treatment costs. However, hospitals with large endowment losses delayed purchases of health information technology and curtailed the offering of unprofitable services.

Suggested Citation

  • David Dranove & Craig Garthwaite & Christopher Ody, 2013. "How do Hospitals Respond to Negative Financial Shocks? The Impact of the 2008 Stock Market Crash," NBER Working Papers 18853, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18853
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Craig Garthwaite & Tal Gross & Matthew J. Notowidigdo, 2014. "Public Health Insurance, Labor Supply, and Employment Lock," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 653-696.
    2. Jeffrey Clemens & Joshua D. Gottlieb, 2017. "In the Shadow of a Giant: Medicare’s Influence on Private Physician Payments," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(1), pages 1-39.
    3. Zack Cooper & Stuart V Craig & Martin Gaynor & John Van Reenen, 2019. "The Price Ain’t Right? Hospital Prices and Health Spending on the Privately Insured," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(1), pages 51-107.
    4. Dranove, David & Garthwaite, Craig & Li, Bingyang & Ody, Christopher, 2015. "Investment subsidies and the adoption of electronic medical records in hospitals," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 309-319.
    5. Bäuml, Matthias & Dette, Tilman & Pollmann, Michael, 2022. "Price and income effects of hospital reimbursements," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • L0 - Industrial Organization - - General
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm

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