Faculty Articles
Health Insurance Expansions and Provider Behavior: Evidence from Substance Use Disorder Providers
Publication Title
The Journal of Law and Economics
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
ISSN
1537-5285
Publication Date
2-2018
Keywords
private insurance, substance use disorder, treatment providers
Abstract
We examine how substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers respond to private insurance expansions induced by state equal coverage (‘parity’) laws for SUD treatment vis-à-vis general healthcare services. Economic theory suggests that such laws will lead to changes in provider behaviors. We use data on licensed specialty SUD treatment providers in the United States between 1997 and 2010 in a differences-in-differences analysis. During this period, 12 states implemented laws that require equality in coverage for SUD treatment. Following the passage of a state parity law we find that providers are less likely to participate in public markets, are less likely to offer price discounts to patients, and increase the quantity of healthcare provided. Further we find evidence that treatment intensity declines following passage of a parity law and heterogeneity in effects across ownership status.
DOI
10.3386/w23094
Volume
61
Issue
2
First Page
279
Last Page
310
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
NSUWorks Citation
Maclean, Johanna Catherine; Popovici, Ioana; and Stern, Elisheva Rachel, "Health Insurance Expansions and Provider Behavior: Evidence from Substance Use Disorder Providers" (2018). Faculty Articles. 178.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_corx_facarticles/178
