Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Health Economics
The Effects Of Physician Retirement On Patient Outcomes: Anticipation And Disruption, Xuan Zhang
The Effects Of Physician Retirement On Patient Outcomes: Anticipation And Disruption, Xuan Zhang
Research Collection School Of Economics
The physician retirement rate in the United States is increasing as the population ages. I use an event study model allowing for anticipation to evaluate the effects of primary care physician (PCP) retirement on elderly adults’ health care utilization and quality of care. I find that, despite moderate anticipatory effects, PCP retirement results in an approximately $572 increase in total Medicare costs per beneficiary in the first 1.5 years post-retirement and an over 10% increase in detection of new chronic conditions. Heterogeneity analyses show that the increase in costs is disproportionately driven by the retirement of solo practitioners; Medicare beneficiaries …