IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v296y2022ics0277953622000983.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Policy of free GP care for children under 6 years: The impact on daytime and out-of-hours general practice

Author

Listed:
  • McDonnell, Thérèse
  • Nicholson, Emma
  • Bury, Gerard
  • Collins, Claire
  • Conlon, Ciara
  • Denny, Kevin
  • O'Callaghan, Michael
  • McAuliffe, Eilish

Abstract

Ireland does not yet have a comprehensive system of universal access to primary care. In 2015, access to general practitioner (GP) care at no charge was introduced for the 70% of children aged under six who previously paid out-of-pocket fees. This study uses data from 16 practices and a regional out-of-hours (OOH) GP service to assess the impact of this policy on attendance.

Suggested Citation

  • McDonnell, Thérèse & Nicholson, Emma & Bury, Gerard & Collins, Claire & Conlon, Ciara & Denny, Kevin & O'Callaghan, Michael & McAuliffe, Eilish, 2022. "Policy of free GP care for children under 6 years: The impact on daytime and out-of-hours general practice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:296:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622000983
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114792
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622000983
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114792?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dolores De La Mata, 2012. "The Effect Of Medicaid Eligibility On Coverage, Utilization, And Children'S Health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(9), pages 1061-1079, September.
    2. Connolly, Sheelah & Wren, Maev-Ann, 2017. "Unmet healthcare needs in Ireland: Analysis using the EU-SILC survey," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(4), pages 434-441.
    3. A. Colin Cameron & Douglas L. Miller, 2015. "A Practitioner’s Guide to Cluster-Robust Inference," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 317-372.
    4. Liran Einav & Amy Finkelstein, 2018. "Moral Hazard in Health Insurance: What We Know and How We Know It," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 957-982.
    5. Jatrana, Santosh & Crampton, Peter, 2021. "Do financial barriers to access to primary health care increase the risk of poor health? Longitudinal evidence from New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    6. Laura R. Wherry & Sarah Miller & Robert Kaestner & Bruce D. Meyer, 2018. "Childhood Medicaid Coverage and Later-Life Health Care Utilization," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(2), pages 287-302, May.
    7. Walsh, Brendan & Nolan, Anne & Brick, Aoife & Keegan, Conor, 2019. "Did the expansion of free GP care impact demand for Emergency Department attendances?," Papers RB201901, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    8. Nolan, Anne & Layte, Richard, 2017. "The impact of transitions in insurance coverage on GP visiting among children in Ireland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 94-100.
    9. Smith, Samantha & Walsh, Brendan & Wren, Maev-Ann & Barron, Steve & Morgenroth, Edgar & Eighan, James & Lyons, Seán, 2019. "Geographic profile of healthcare needs and non-acute healthcare supply in Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS90, June.
    10. Sophie Mitra & Michael Palmer & Shannon Pullaro & Daniel Mont & Nora Groce, 2017. "Health Insurance and Children in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Review," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93(302), pages 484-500, September.
    11. Currie, Janet & Decker, Sandra & Lin, Wanchuan, 2008. "Has public health insurance for older children reduced disparities in access to care and health outcomes?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1567-1581, December.
    12. Walsh, Brendan & Nolan, Anne & Brick, Aoife & Keegan, Conor, 2019. "Did the expansion of free GP care impact demand for Emergency Department attendances? A difference-in-differences analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 101-111.
    13. Moulton, Brent R., 1986. "Random group effects and the precision of regression estimates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 385-397, August.
    14. McDonnell, Thérèse & Nicholson, Emma & Barrett, Michael & Bury, Gerard & Collins, Claire & Cummins, Fergal & Deasy, Conor & Denny, Kevin & De Brún, Aoife & Hensey, Conor & McAuliffe, Eilish, 2021. "Policy of free GP care for children under 6 years: The impact on emergency department attendance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    15. Burke, Sara & Barry, Sarah & Siersbaek, Rikke & Johnston, Bridget & Ní Fhallúin, Maebh & Thomas, Steve, 2018. "Sláintecare – A ten-year plan to achieve universal healthcare in Ireland," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(12), pages 1278-1282.
    16. Sarah Miller & Laura R. Wherry, 2019. "The Long-Term Effects of Early Life Medicaid Coverage," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(3), pages 785-824.
    17. Thomas, Steve & Johnston, Bridget & Barry, Sarah & Siersbaek, Rikke & Burke, Sara, 2021. "Sláintecare implementation status in 2020: Limited progress with entitlement expansion," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(3), pages 277-283.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Connolly, Sheelah & Keegan, Conor & O'Malley, Seamus & Regan, Mark, 2022. "Extending eligibility for general practitioner care in Ireland: cost implications," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS156, June.
    2. McDonnell, Thérèse & Nicholson, Emma & Bury, Gerard & Collins, Claire & Conlon, Ciara & De Brún, Aoife & Doherty, Edel & McAuliffe, Eilish, 2023. "The role of contextual factors in decision-making by General Practitioners on paediatric referral to the Emergency Department in Ireland: A Discrete Choice Experiment," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. McDonnell, Thérèse & Nicholson, Emma & Barrett, Michael & Bury, Gerard & Collins, Claire & Cummins, Fergal & Deasy, Conor & Denny, Kevin & De Brún, Aoife & Hensey, Conor & McAuliffe, Eilish, 2021. "Policy of free GP care for children under 6 years: The impact on emergency department attendance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    2. Walsh, Brendan & Wren, Maev-Ann & Smith, Samantha & Lyons, Seán & Eighan, James & Morgenroth, Edgar, 2019. "An analysis of the effects on Irish hospital care of the supply of care inside and outside the hospital," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS91, June.
    3. Huang, Wei & Liu, Hong, 2023. "Early childhood exposure to health insurance and adolescent outcomes: Evidence from rural China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    4. Walsh, Brendan & Keegan, Conor & Brick, Aoife & Connolly, Sheelah & Bergin, Adele & Wren, Maev-Ann & Lyons, Seán & Hill, Leonie & Smith, Samantha, 2021. "Projections of expenditure for primary, community and long-term care Ireland, 2019–2035, based on the Hippocrates model," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS126, June.
    5. Laura R. Wherry & Bruce D. Meyer, 2016. "Saving Teens: Using a Policy Discontinuity to Estimate the Effects of Medicaid Eligibility," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(3), pages 556-588.
    6. Qureshi, Javaeria A. & Gangopadhyaya, Anuj, 2021. "Childhood Medicaid Eligibility and Human Capital," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    7. Boudreaux, Michel H. & Golberstein, Ezra & McAlpine, Donna D., 2016. "The long-term impacts of Medicaid exposure in early childhood: Evidence from the program's origin," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 161-175.
    8. Kang, Cheolmin & Kawamura, Akira & Noguchi, Haruko, 2022. "Does free healthcare improve children's healthcare use and outcomes? Evidence from Japan's healthcare subsidy for young children," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 372-406.
    9. Connolly, Sheelah & Brick, Aoife & O'Neill, Ciarán & O'Callaghan, Michael, 2022. "An analysis of the primary care systems of Ireland and Northern Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS137, June.
    10. Chloe N. East & Sarah Miller & Marianne Page & Laura R. Wherry, 2023. "Multigenerational Impacts of Childhood Access to the Safety Net: Early Life Exposure to Medicaid and the Next Generation's Health," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(1), pages 98-135, January.
    11. Janet Currie, 2020. "Child health as human capital," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 452-463, April.
    12. Brendan Walsh & Seán Lyons & Samantha Smith & Maev‐Ann Wren & James Eighan & Edgar Morgenroth, 2020. "Does formal home care reduce inpatient length of stay?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(12), pages 1620-1636, December.
    13. Thompson, Owen, 2017. "The long-term health impacts of Medicaid and CHIP," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 26-40.
    14. repec:mrr:papers:wp341 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Andrew Goodman-Bacon, 2016. "The Long-Run Effects of Childhood Insurance Coverage: Medicaid Implementation, Adult Health, and Labor Market Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 22899, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Ann, Kirby & Murphy, Aileen, 2022. "Would universal general practitioner care impact Irish adolescents’ utilisation?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(7), pages 652-660.
    17. Hilary W. Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2018. "Safety Nets Investments in Children," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 49(1 (Spring), pages 89-150.
    18. Nolan, Anne & Layte, Richard, 2017. "The impact of transitions in insurance coverage on GP visiting among children in Ireland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 94-100.
    19. Étienne Gaudette & Gwyn C. Pauley & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2016. "Long-term Individual and Population Consequences of Early-life Access to Health Insurance," Working Papers wp355, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    20. Patrick Asuming & Hyuncheol Bryant Kim & Armand Sim, 2018. "Long-run Consequences of Health Insurance Promotion When Mandates are Not Enforceable: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Ghana," Papers 1811.09004, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2019.
    21. Toshiaki Iizuka & Hitoshi Shigeoka, 2018. "Free for Children? Patient Cost-sharing and Healthcare Utilization," NBER Working Papers 25306, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:296:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622000983. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.