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Causes of regional variation in healthcare utilization in Germany

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  • Salm, Martin
  • Wübker, Ansgar

Abstract

Healthcare utilization varies widely between regions. Yet, the causes of regional variation are still not well understood, and they can also differ between countries and institutional settings. We exploit patient migration to examine which share of regional variation in ambulatory care use in Germany can be attributed to demand factors and to supply factors, respectively. Based on administrative claim-level data we find that regional variation can be overwhelmingly explained by patient characteristics. Our results contrast with previous results for other countries, and they suggest that institutional rules in Germany successfully constrain supply-side variation in ambulatory care use between German regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Salm, Martin & Wübker, Ansgar, 2017. "Causes of regional variation in healthcare utilization in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 675, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:675
    DOI: 10.4419/86788783
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    Cited by:

    1. Heinrich Nils & Wübker Ansgar & Wuckel Christiane, 2018. "Waiting Times for Outpatient Treatment in Germany: New Experimental Evidence from Primary Data," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 238(5), pages 375-394, September.
    2. Godøy, Anna & Huitfeldt, Ingrid, 2020. "Regional variation in health care utilization and mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Rudy Douven & Minke Remmerswaal & Ana Moura & Martin Salm, 2018. "Causes of regional variation in Dutch healthcare expenditures: evidence from movers," CPB Discussion Paper 384, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    4. Ana Moura & Martin Salm & Rudy Douven & Minke Remmerswaal, 2019. "Causes of regional variation in Dutch healthcare expenditures: Evidence from movers," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(9), pages 1088-1098, September.
    5. Rouven Edgar Haschka & Katharina Schley & Helmut Herwartz, 2020. "Provision of health care services and regional diversity in Germany: insights from a Bayesian health frontier analysis with spatial dependencies," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(1), pages 55-71, February.
    6. Ana Moura & Martin Salm & Rudy Douven & Minke Remmerswaal, 2019. "Causes of regional variation in Dutch healthcare expenditures: Evidence from movers," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(9), pages 1088-1098, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Healthcare spending; regional variation; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health

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