Replication data for: The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions

Summary:  View help for Summary We use an event study approach to examine the economic consequences of hospital admissions for adults in two datasets: survey data from the Health and Retirement Study, and hospitalization data linked to credit reports. For non-elderly adults with health insurance, hospital admissions increase out-of-pocket medical spending, unpaid medical bills, and bankruptcy, and reduce earnings, income, access to credit, and consumer borrowing. The earnings decline is substantial compared to the out-of-pocket spending increase, and is minimally insured prior to age-eligibility for Social Security Retirement Income. Relative to the insured non-elderly, the uninsured non-elderly experience much larger increases in unpaid medical bills and bankruptcy rates following a hospital admission. Hospital admissions trigger fewer than 5 percent of all bankruptcies in our sample.

JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      D14 Household Saving; Personal Finance
      G22 Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
      I11 Analysis of Health Care Markets
      I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private