TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Ponzo, Michela
AU  - Scoppa, Vincenzo
        TI  - Cost-Sharing and Use of Health Services in Italy: Evidence from a Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design
        PY  - 2016/Feb/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 9772
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp9772
        AB  - We use a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) to evaluate the impact of cost-sharing on the use of health services. In the Italian health system, individuals reaching age 65 and earning low incomes are given total exemption from cost-sharing for health services consumption. Since the probability of exemption changes discontinuously at age 65, we use a Fuzzy RDD in which the age threshold is used as an instrument for exemption. We find that prescription drug consumption, specialist visits and diagnostic checks remarkably increase with exemption. However, using several measures of health outcomes we do not find any change in individual health.
        KW  - fuzzy regression discontinuity design
KW  - health outcomes
KW  - moral hazard
KW  - cost-sharing
KW  - healthcare demand
KW  - health insurance
KW  - instrumental variables
        ER  -