Hospitality Administration and Management Commons^™

Do User Fees Increase Tuberculosis Notifications?, Chioma Y. Chukwumah

Economics Honors Projects

Public health sectors around the world strive to provide accessible and affordable care. Tight government budgets and growing populations lead countries to consider adding or raising charges to health care consumers. These user fees may affect the quality, equity and revenue of health care. This paper investigates the impact of user fees on notifications of tuberculosis. In the panel data composed of 176 countries from 1960 to 2012, I find no evidence that suggests user fees increase tuberculosis. In contrast, I find strong and robust evidence suggesting user fees are associated with fewer new cases of tuberculosis.