Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 50, Issue 5 S291-S300, Copyright © 1995 by The Gerontological Society of America
Out-of-pocket health expenditures by elderly households: change over the 1980s
RM Rubin, K Koelln and RK Speas Jr
Department of Economics, University of Memphis, USA.
This study compares out-of-pocket health expenditures of elderly and
nonelderly households over the past decade, using descriptive statistics
and two-stage least squares analysis of Consumer Expenditure Survey data
for 1980-1981 and 1989-90. This empirical analysis provides a basis for
discussion of both efficiency and equity issues in health policy. We find
that increases in out-of-pocket medical care expenditures over the last
decade were mainly for insurance premiums rather than medical goods and
services, which indicates potential inefficiencies in health care markets.
We also find that Medicare promoted equity of out-of-pocket expenditures on
health care among elderly persons over the 1980s, which implies that
universal national health insurance would enhance distribution equity.
