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Full-Text Articles in Health Economics

Geographic Variation In The Implementation Of Public Health Services: Organizational, Economic, And Network Determinants, Glen P. Mays Dec 2015

Geographic Variation In The Implementation Of Public Health Services: Organizational, Economic, And Network Determinants, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

An expanding body of research-tested public health interventions exist to prevent disease and injury and promote health on a population-wide basis, such as those profiled in the CDC’s Guide to Community Prevention Services, but adoption and implementation of these strategies vary widely across states and communities. Public health services are delivered through diffuse constellations of governmental agencies and their private-sector and community-based counterparts using implementation mechanisms that are poorly understood. The studies in this panel examine how organizational, economic, and inter-organizational network characteristics influence the implementation of public health services across states and communities.


Inter-Organizational Network Effects On Public Health Service Implementation, Outcomes, And Disparities Across U.S. Communities, Glen P. Mays Dec 2015

Inter-Organizational Network Effects On Public Health Service Implementation, Outcomes, And Disparities Across U.S. Communities, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

Background: The Affordable Care Act created new incentives for hospitals, insurers, public health agencies, and others to contribute to disease prevention and health promotion activities, potentially changing inter-organizational relationships and expanding implementation of strategies that improve population health. This study uses data from the 1998-2014 National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems to examine: (1) the extent and nature of change in inter-organizational contributions to public health activities; (2) whether network changes attenuate or exacerbate disparities in public health implementation across communities; and (3) how network changes affect preventable mortality and resource use.Methods: We follow a longitudinal cohort of 360 …


The Effect Of Snap Benefits For Food Insecurity, David E. Davis, Rui Huang Nov 2015

The Effect Of Snap Benefits For Food Insecurity, David E. Davis, Rui Huang

David E. Davis

This paper investigates the effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for food insecurity. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) temporarily increased SNAP benefits. We use that increase as a natural experiment to identify the causal effect of endogenous SNAP benefits. We estimate models of food insecurity with linear two-stage least squares and non-linear instrumental variable (IV) probit. Results suggest that a per person SNAP dollar decreases food insecurity by 0.4% to 0.9%. However, effects are nonlinear. The probability of food insecurity is highest, and marginal effects are largest, when benefit amounts are small.


Estimating Health And Economic Gains From Public Health Delivery System Transformation, Glen Mays Nov 2015

Estimating Health And Economic Gains From Public Health Delivery System Transformation, Glen Mays

Glen Mays

Objectives: The Affordable Care Act created new resources and incentives for hospitals, insurers, public health agencies, and others to contribute to disease prevention and health promotion activities, potentially changing the structure of public health delivery systems and expanding the implementation of strategies that improve population health. This study uses data from the 1998-2014 National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems to examine: (1) the extent and nature of change in inter-organizational contributions to public health activities, which we use as indicators of public health system change; and (2) the effects of these changes on preventable mortality and resource use. Methods: …


Does Retirement Impact Health Care Utilization?, Norma Coe, Gema Zamarro Oct 2015

Does Retirement Impact Health Care Utilization?, Norma Coe, Gema Zamarro

Gema Zamarro

The objective of this paper is to estimate the causal effect of retirement on health care utilization. To do so, we use data from the 1992-2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the 2004-2006 waves of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).In particular, we estimate the causal impact of retirement on health care utilization as measured by: doctor visits, visits to a general practitioner, nights in the hospital, and preventative care use. This paper uses panel data and instrumental variable methods, exploiting variation in statutory retirement ages across countries, to estimate the causal …


Kentucky's Public Health Strategic Plan: Strengthening Foundational Services & Improving Population Health, Glen P. Mays Oct 2015

Kentucky's Public Health Strategic Plan: Strengthening Foundational Services & Improving Population Health, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

This session examines recent progress toward the 2012 Institute of Medicine recommendation to identify the components and costs of a "minimum package" of public health services and foundational capabilities to be available across the U.S. Research about the health and economic benefits of Foundational Public Health Services has begun to shape Kentucky's strategic plan for transforming the public health system.


Analytic Approaches For Causal Inferences With Complex Multi-Component Interventions: Project Achieve's Study Of Managing Care Transitions, Glen P. Mays Oct 2015

Analytic Approaches For Causal Inferences With Complex Multi-Component Interventions: Project Achieve's Study Of Managing Care Transitions, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

Estimating the causal effects of complex, multi-component health interventions is a task with many challenges in measurement and methodology. This presentation profiles the methods being used as part of the PCORI-funded Project Achieve, a national study to estimate the comparative effectiveness of heterogeneous care transition programs designed to help hospitalized patients and their caregivers navigate care delivery systems effectively and return back to the community with optimal health and wellbeing.


How Does Retirement Impact Health Behaviors? An International Comparison, Norma Coe, Gema Zamarro Sep 2015

How Does Retirement Impact Health Behaviors? An International Comparison, Norma Coe, Gema Zamarro

Gema Zamarro

Recent work has found that retirement may lead to improvements in health, although the literature has not yet reached a consensus. This could be due to actual differences in the relationship of interest between countries or due to methodological differences between studies. The first goal of this paper is to estimate the causal impact of retirement on self-reported health using consistent estimation techniques on three harmonized longitudinal data sets, representative of the United States, England, and continental Europe. Using panel data and instrumental variable methods exploiting variation in statutory retirement ages, this paper then estimates how retirement causally affects health …


Tb184: Least-Cost Options For The Collection, Treatment, And Disposal Of Biomedical Waste In Maine., Andrew C. Files, Thomas G. Allen, George K. Criner Sep 2015

Tb184: Least-Cost Options For The Collection, Treatment, And Disposal Of Biomedical Waste In Maine., Andrew C. Files, Thomas G. Allen, George K. Criner

George K. Criner

This study examines the cost effectiveness of using current treatment technologies to sanitize, disinfect, shred, and dispose of biomedical waste within the state in relation to the costs of current disposal practices in Maine. The study employs a linear programming model to determine the combination of treatment facilities, transportation options, and disposal sites to treat all waste produced in Maine at the lowest statewide cost. A least-cost solution is developed for three different scenarios. The first two scenarios assume that all treated waste must be shredded in accordance with current regulatory requirements. The third scenario assumes that regulations are changed …


Trends In Health Care Delivery Systems: Implications For Cancer Prevention And Control, Glen P. Mays Sep 2015

Trends In Health Care Delivery Systems: Implications For Cancer Prevention And Control, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

The Affordable Care Act and larger economic forces are leading both health care providers and public health agencies to renegotiate their roles and responsibilities within the U.S. health system. This session reviews major changes occurring in both health care and public health delivery systems, with a focus on the implications for cancer prevention and control. The information infrastructure created by cancer registries and other health information systems are increasingly important for enabling greater coordination, alignment and accountability within the nation's changing delivery systems.


Using Research And Roi To Drive Partnerships In Public Health Delivery Systems, Glen P. Mays Aug 2015

Using Research And Roi To Drive Partnerships In Public Health Delivery Systems, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

Stimulating public-private partnerships (PPP) for health and economic development initiatives requires research that can answer key questions: (1) what are the health and economic returns likely to be realized; (2) over what time frames and with what certainty; (3) what investments are required to achieve results; and (4) what are the implementation strategies most likely to succeed. This presentation reviews ongoing research on the PPPs used to deliver public health services in the U.S., and explores the lessons this research offers PPPs in low and middle income countries. We examine how scientific evidence on public health delivery systems and their …


Estimating Patient-Centered And Community-Centered Treatment Effects: Examples From Medical Care And Public Health, Glen P. Mays Aug 2015

Estimating Patient-Centered And Community-Centered Treatment Effects: Examples From Medical Care And Public Health, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

Health services researchers face growing clinical and policy imperatives for estimating how the effectiveness of medical and public health interventions vary across patients, population groups, and community settings. Recent advances in local instrumental variables estimation techniques allow for the estimation of person-specific and community-specific treatment effects in the presence of unobserved heterogeneity. This presentation explores examples from both medicine and public health following the local IV methods developed by Basu et al. (2013).


Foundational Public Health Services And Health System Reform: Evidence, Economics, And Implementation, Glen P. Mays Aug 2015

Foundational Public Health Services And Health System Reform: Evidence, Economics, And Implementation, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

The Institute of Medicine's 2012 report on public health financing recommended a national initiative to identify the components and costs of a "minimum package" of public health programs and infrastructure that should be available in every U.S. community. In response, efforts are now underway to reach consensus on a set of "Foundational Public Health Services" for the nation, and to identify resource requirements for implementing these services. This presentation reviews existing research on the current availability of Foundational Public Health Services across the U.S. and the health and economic effects attributable to these services. We also review progress on ongoing …


Fundamentals Of Economic Evaluation For Public Health, Glen P. Mays Aug 2015

Fundamentals Of Economic Evaluation For Public Health, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

This workshop provides an overview of the design and implementation of economic evaluation studies of public health programs and policies. Strategies for integrating economic evaluation principles, measurement strategies, analytic approaches, and results into the routine operations of public health agencies are examined.


Medicaid Crowd-Out Of Other Public Health Spending: Modeling Economic And Health Effects, Glen P. Mays Jul 2015

Medicaid Crowd-Out Of Other Public Health Spending: Modeling Economic And Health Effects, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

MOTIVATION: Thirty states are expanding Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as of 2015, and while federal funds cover most costs for newly eligible recipients, states must share the additional costs of covering previously-eligible state residents who enroll in Medicaid. States, together with their local government counterparts, also provide the vast majority (87%) of public sector funds for public health programs designed to promote health and prevent disease and injury on a population-wide basis. Fiscal constraints and generous federal matching funds create strong budgetary incentives for states to channel their health-related spending to Medicaid rather than to other …


Using Network Analysis To Understand Public Health Delivery Systems & Community Health Initiatives, Glen P. Mays Jun 2015

Using Network Analysis To Understand Public Health Delivery Systems & Community Health Initiatives, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

The increasingly connected world of health care delivery relies on an expanding frontier of multi-stakeholder structures and processes, from interdisciplinary patient-centered care teams, to virtual accountable care organizations (ACOs), to complex community-level interventions. This session highlights recent advances in applying social network analysis (SNA) methods to study the implementation and impact of these types of innovations. This methods workshop examines the benefits and limits of novel SNA applications based on the expanding availability of large, linkable electronic clinical and administrative data sources with dependent data structures. This paper profiles examples of using SNA principles and methods to study the implementation …


Learning From Network Analysis: Care Transitions, Market Competition, And Community Interventions, Glen P. Mays Jun 2015

Learning From Network Analysis: Care Transitions, Market Competition, And Community Interventions, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

The increasingly connected world of health care delivery relies on an expanding frontier of multi-stakeholder structures and processes, from interdisciplinary patient-centered care teams, to virtual accountable care organizations (ACOs), to complex community-level interventions. This methods workshop highlights recent advances in applying social network analysis (SNA) methods to study the implementation and impact of these types of innovations. This session will examine the benefits and limits of novel SNA applications based on the expanding availability of large, linkable electronic clinical and administrative data sources with dependent data structures.


Learning From Delivery System Behavior, Dynamics, And Interactions To Advance A Culture Of Health, Glen P. Mays Jun 2015

Learning From Delivery System Behavior, Dynamics, And Interactions To Advance A Culture Of Health, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

A new "Systems for Action" national research program flows directly from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health action framework. This program will build evidence on how best to align the delivery and financing systems for medical care, public health, and community services & supports so as to promote wellbeing and resiliency, realize efficiencies in resource use, and reduce inequities in health.


Changes In Public Health System Capital And Long-Run Health And Economic Outcomes: 1998 To 2014, Glen P. Mays, Cezar B. Mamaril Jun 2015

Changes In Public Health System Capital And Long-Run Health And Economic Outcomes: 1998 To 2014, Glen P. Mays, Cezar B. Mamaril

Glen Mays

Research Objective: The Affordable Care Act created new resources and incentives for hospitals, insurers, public health agencies, and others to contribute to disease prevention and health promotion activities, potentially changing the structure of public health delivery systems and expanding the implementation of strategies that improve population health. This study uses data from the 1998-2014 National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems to examine: (1) the extent and nature of change in inter-organizational contributions to public health activities, which we use as indicators of public health “system capital”; and (2) the effects of these changes on preventable mortality and resource use. …


Cost Estimation In Public Health Services & Systems Research, Glen P. Mays Jun 2015

Cost Estimation In Public Health Services & Systems Research, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

Considerable uncertainty persists about the resources required to implement public health programs and policies, and about the factors that drive variation in resource needs and utilization across community and institutional settings. This paper reviews several alternative approaches to cost estimation that we have used in the field of public health services & systems research (PHSSR). This review was prepared for an expert panel meeting convened as part of a study commissioned by the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) to estimate the costs associated with public health emergency preparedness capabilities.


Fiscal Decentralization And China’S Regional Infant Mortality, Gregory J. Brock, Yinghua Jin, Tong Zeng Apr 2015

Fiscal Decentralization And China’S Regional Infant Mortality, Gregory J. Brock, Yinghua Jin, Tong Zeng

Gregory J. Brock

Regional Chinese infant mortality rates (IMRs) are examined using a stochastic frontier method for the first time. The composite error term method yields estimates of large underreporting of IMRs over time and provinces in China during the past 30 years. China does not follow the standard growth paradigm of moregrowth leading to lower IMRs. Fiscal decentralization has not alleviated the problem of high IMRs. Both IMRs and the sex ratio at birth suggest reported data constitute a floor or minimal level of demographic distress across provinces with millions of missing females not fully included in the data. China’s one-child policy …


Geographic Variation In The Delivery Of Public Health Services: Understanding Causes And Consequences, Glen P. Mays Apr 2015

Geographic Variation In The Delivery Of Public Health Services: Understanding Causes And Consequences, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

The implementation and reach of evidence-based prevention and public health programs varies widely across the U.S., as does the availability of cross-cutting infrastructure and foundational capabilities required to support these interventions. This talk profiles ongoing research to uncover the causes and consequences of variation in public health delivery. This research points to policy and administrative strategies that can reduce inequities and inefficiencies in public health protections.


Estimating The Costs Of Foundational Public Health Services, Glen P. Mays Feb 2015

Estimating The Costs Of Foundational Public Health Services, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

The Institute of Medicine’s 2012 report on public health financing called for the convening of expert panels to identify the components of a “minimum package” of public health services and cross-cutting capabilities that should be available in every U.S. community to protect and improve population health. This report also called for studies to identify the resources required to make these services universally available across the country. This research brief describes the research methodology in use to generate first-generation estimates of current resource use and estimated resource needs for implementing foundational public health services and capabilities.


Defining Comprehensive Public Health Delivery Systems, Glen P. Mays Feb 2015

Defining Comprehensive Public Health Delivery Systems, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

This brief describes the methodology for defining Comprehensive Public Health Delivery Systems using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems. The systems meeting this definition have been shown to deliver a broader range of recommended public health services, using fewer resources, than the more prevalent types of U.S. public health systems that do not meet this definition. Over time, comprehensive systems are associated with larger gains in population health status than are their counterparts.


Aca Implementation In The South: The Political Economy Of Full Participation In Kentucky, Glen P. Mays Jan 2015

Aca Implementation In The South: The Political Economy Of Full Participation In Kentucky, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

This analysis, conducted as part of the ACA Implementation Research Network, examines economic and political forces shaping Kentucky's early experience with implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.


Medical Care Spending And Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence From Workers' Compensation Reforms, David Powell, Seth Seabury Jan 2015

Medical Care Spending And Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence From Workers' Compensation Reforms, David Powell, Seth Seabury

David Powell

This paper studies the effectiveness of medical care spending on improving labor outcomes. Injuries sustained at work represent large income and welfare losses to households and there is a significant policy interest in reducing these burdens. Workers' compensation program is a large government program which provides monetary and medical benefits to injured workers. Despite the potential importance of medical care in improving the health and labor productivity of injured workers, little research has addressed the relationship between medical care provided through workers' compensation and post-injury labor outcomes. This paper exploits the 2003-2004 California workers' compensation reforms which reduced medical care …


Saving Lives With Stem Cell Transplants, Damien Sheehan-Connor, Ted C. Bergstrom, Rodney Garratt Dec 2014

Saving Lives With Stem Cell Transplants, Damien Sheehan-Connor, Ted C. Bergstrom, Rodney Garratt

Ted C Bergstrom

Blood stem cell transplants can be life-saving for some patients, but the chances of finding a matching donor are small unless a large number of potential donors are evaluated. Many nations maintain large registries of potential donors who have offered to donate stem cells if they are the best available match for a patient needing a transplant. An alternative source of stem cells, umbilical cord blood, is stored in banks. Everyone faces a small probability of needing a transplant which will increase their likelihood of survival. The registries and cord blood banks are thus an interesting example of a pure …


Prices And Social Behavior: Evidence From Adult Smoking In Canadian Aboriginal Communities, Jesse A. Matheson Dec 2014

Prices And Social Behavior: Evidence From Adult Smoking In Canadian Aboriginal Communities, Jesse A. Matheson

Jesse A Matheson

This paper provides estimates of tobacco price elasticity explicitly distinguishing between two price effects: the direct effect, reflecting individual reaction to a price change, and the indirect effect, whereby price influences the individual by changing community smoking behavior. Canada's Aboriginal communities are small and secluded, allowing for plausible identification of reference groups on a relatively large scale. Estimates suggest a 10 percent increase in price decreases daily smoking by 0.91 percentage points (2.11 percent), occasional smoking by 1.24 percentage points (8.27 percent) and average smoking intensity by 0.15 cigarettes per day (2.9 percent). It is found that the indirect effect …