Findings from RAND Provides New Data about Healthcare Economics (China’s medical savings accounts: an analysis of the price elasticity of demand for…

Investment Weekly News

Findings from RAND Provides New Data about Healthcare Economics (China's medical savings accounts: an analysis of the price elasticity of demand for health care)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Investment Weekly News -- Fresh data on Health and Medicine - Healthcare Economics are presented in a new report. According to news reporting out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by VerticalNews editors, the research stated, "Although medical savings accounts (MSAs) have drawn intensive attention across the world for their potential in cost control, there is limited evidence of their impact on the demand for health care. This paper is intended to fill that gap."

Financial support for this research came from European Union.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from RAND, "First, we built up a dynamic model of a consumer's problem of utility maximization in the presence of a nonlinear price schedule embedded in an MSA. Second, the model was implemented using data from a 2-year MSA pilot program in China. The estimated price elasticity under MSAs was between -0.42 and -0.58, i.e., higher than that reported in the literature. The relatively high price elasticity suggests that MSAs as an insurance feature may help control costs."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "However, the long-term effect of MSAs on health costs is subject to further analysis."

For more information on this research see: China's medical savings accounts: an analysis of the price elasticity of demand for health care. European Journal of Health Economics, 2017;18(6):773-785. European Journal of Health Economics can be contacted at: Springer, 233 Spring St, New York, NY 10013, USA. (Springer - www.springer.com; European Journal of Health Economics - www.springerlink.com/content/1618-7598/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting H. Yu, RAND Corp, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States.

Keywords for this news article include: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America, Healthcare Economics, Health and Medicine, Finance and Investment, China, Asia, RAND.