Health policy and horizontal inequities of health-care utilization in Australia: 1983-2005

Hajizadeh, Mohammad, Connelly, Luke Brian and Butler, James Robert Gerard (2012) Health policy and horizontal inequities of health-care utilization in Australia: 1983-2005. Applied Economics Letters, 19 18: 1765-1775.


Author Hajizadeh, Mohammad
Connelly, Luke Brian
Butler, James Robert Gerard
Title Health policy and horizontal inequities of health-care utilization in Australia: 1983-2005
Journal name Applied Economics Letters  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank B)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2012
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1080/13504851.2012.659337
Volume number 19
Issue number 18
ISSN 1350-4851;1466-4291
Start page 1765
End page 1775
Total pages 11
Place of publication Abingdon, United Kingdom
Publisher Routledge
Collection year 2013
Language eng
Abstract We used five National Health Surveys (NHSs) in order to measure horizontal inequity (equal health care for equal need) in health-care utilization in Australia over five time points from 1983 to 2005. The direct standardization method was used to estimate the horizontal inequity indices for six measures of health-care utilization. The results suggest that the distributions of General Practitioner (GP) services and any physician visits in Australia were generally pro-poor, whereas the distributions of specialist visits, dentist visits and any ambulatory visits were pro-rich. The computed indices demonstrate that the introduction of Medicare in 1984 had a pro-poor effect on the utilization of GPs, any physician visits and any ambulatory visits. In contrast, the implementation of Private Health Insurance (PHI) policies over the period 1997 to 2000 had a pro-rich effect on the distribution of health-care utilization in recent years, but this finding is based on the assumption that PHI policies affected health-care consumption in the long term.
Keyword Horizontal inequity
Health-care utilization
Health policy
Australia
Concentration Index
Inequality
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ
Additional Notes Available online: 22 March 2012.

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Official 2013 Collection
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