THE DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURE TOWARD THE END OF LIFE: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN
利用台湾2005-2007年11863名逝者的保险理赔数据，研究发现私人医院治疗的生命末期患者住院支出高于公立医院，但住院天数无显著差异，这与公立和私立医院财务激励的差异一致。
This paper empirically investigates the relationship between the health care expenditure of end-of-life patients and hospital characteristics in Taiwan where (i) hospitals of different ownership differ in their financial incentives; (ii) patients are free to choose their providers; and (iii) health care services are paid for by a single public payer on a fee-for-services basis with a global budget cap. Utilizing insurance claims for 11 863 individuals who died during 2005-2007, we trace their hospital expenditures over the last 24 months of their lives. We find that end-of-life patients who are treated by private hospitals in general are associated with higher inpatient expenditures than those treated by public hospitals, while there is no significant difference in days of hospital stay. This finding is consistent with the difference in financial incentives between public and private hospitals in Taiwan. Nevertheless, we also find that the public-private differences vary across accreditation levels.