Outpatient visits after retirement in Europe and the US.

ABSTRACT: I conduct an empirical analysis of the relation between retirement and outpatient care use in Europe and the US, and investigate the potential driving factors of that. I link the empirical analysis to a theoretical model of medical care demand. I document that pensioners tend to visit a doctor with higher probability and more often than the rest of the 50+ population. Ceteris paribus, being retired implies 3-10 % more outpatient visits in Europe. The estimates are of similar magnitude in the US. The paper contributes to the understanding of how population ageing plays a part in the rising health care expenditures. I find evidence that retirement related individual characteristics, increasing leisure time and stronger health preferences all contribute to the positive relation between retire

SUBMITTER: Biro A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6116913 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature