Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Results May Vary

Tyler Cowen cites a study showing that quality of care, in a given hospital, seems to vary with what kind of insurance a patient has. Patients with private insurance fared better than patients with Medicare, which does not pay as well as private insurance.

This makes intuitive sense, to me. Although, as a probable future-Medicare-enrollee, I don't find it reassuring exactly.

Cowen comments:

"I don’t have a great deal of confidence in our ability to estimate the size of that effect, but keep that difference in mind next time someone tells you that Medicare is so much more efficient than private health insurance in this country."

Paying more often means better service.
Of course, if you're paying less, this can make you nervous.

No comments: