TY  - JOUR
AU  - Doyle,Joseph J.,Jr.
TI  - Health Insurance, Treatment and Outcomes: Using Auto Accidents as Health Shocks
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 11099
PY  - 2005
Y2  - February 2005
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11099
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11099.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Joseph J. Doyle, Jr.
MIT Sloan School of Management
100 Main Street, E62-515
Cambridge, MA 02142
Tel: 617/452-3761
Fax: 617/258-6855
E-Mail: jjdoyle@mit.edu
AB  - Previous studies find that the uninsured receive less health care than the insured, yet differences in health outcomes have rarely been studied. In addition, selection bias may partly explain the difference in care received. This paper focuses on an unexpected health shock -- severe automobile accidents where victims have little choice but to visit a hospital. Another innovation is the use of a comparison group that is similar to the uninsured: those who have private health insurance but do not have automobile insurance. The medically uninsured are found to receive twenty percent less care and have a substantially higher mortality rate.
ER  -