Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Meliyanni Johar
Author-Workplace-Name:Economics Discipline Group, University of Technology, Sydney
Author-Name: Glenn Jones
Author-Workplace-Name:Economics Discipline Group, University of Technology, Sydney
Author-Name: Michael P. Keane
Author-Email: michael.keane@nuffield.ox.ac.uk
Author-Workplace-Name: Nuffield College, University of Oxford
Author-Name: Elizabeth Savage
Author-Email: Elizabeth.Savage@uts.edu.au
Author-Workplace-Name: Economics Discipline Group, University of Technology, Sydney
Author-Name: Olena Stavrunova
Author-Email: olena.stavrunova@uts.edu.au
Author-Workplace-Name: Economics Discipline Group, University of Technology, Sydney
Title: Discrimination in a universal health system: Explaining socioeconomic waiting time gaps
Abstract: One of the core goals of a universal health care system is to eliminate discrimi-
nation on the basis of socioeconomic status. We test for discrimination using patient
waiting times for non-emergency treatment in public hospitals. Waiting time should
re
ect patients' clinical need with priority given to more urgent cases. Using data from
Australia, we nd evidence of prioritisation of the most socioeconomically advantaged
patients at all quantiles of the waiting time distribution. These patients also benet
from variation in supply endowments. These results challenge the universal health
system's core principle of equitable treatment.
Keywords: Public hospital, waiting time, discrimination, decomposition analysis
Classification-JEL: I11, J7, H51, C14, C21
Length: 37 pages
Creation-Date: 2012-10-23
Number: 2012-W11
File-URL: http://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/economics/papers/2012/DecompositionSEIFA2012.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Handle: RePEc:nuf:econwp:1211