Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/145776 
Title: 

Reimbursement Schemes for Hospitals: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Germany

The document was removed on behalf of the author(s)/ the editor(s).

Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2016: Demographischer Wandel - Session: Health I No. B09-V2
Publisher: 
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft, Kiel und Hamburg
Abstract: 
We use a unique dataset from a German health insurer to study how the effects of the introduction of a high powered incentive scheme for hospitals on cost effectiveness and quality of medical treatment depend on case and hospital characteristics. As hospitals had a transition period of several years to complete the switch from a fee-for-service to a prospective-payment system, we can adopt a difference-in-differences approach. All hospitals had to switch eventually, which limits the potential for selection bias. Furthermore, we can follow a patient even when readmitted to a different hospital. We find that the readmission rate increases for more severe cases, and that the length of stay of older people decreases more under the new system. The average length of stay did not change significantly but the readmission rate increased. However, this latter effect is absent in privately owned or university hospitals.
JEL: 
I11
D22
I18
Document Type: 
Conference Paper

Files in This Item:
The document was removed on behalf of the author(s)/ the editor(s) on: June 12, 2017


Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.