Health Care Access, Costs, and Treatment Dynamics: Evidence from In Vitro Fertilization
研究旨在改善体外受精（IVF）可及性和降低成本的公共政策，通过动态模型分析患者选择，发现保险与价格激励结合可提升福利并减少医疗成本。
We study public policies designed to improve access and reduce costs for in vitro fertilization (IVF). High out-of-pocket prices can deter potential patients from IVF, while active patients have an incentive to risk costly high-order pregnancies to improve their odds of treatment success. We analyze IVF’s rich choice structure by estimating a dynamic model of patients’ choices within and across treatments. Policy simulations show that insurance mandates for treatment or hard limits on treatment aggressiveness can improve access or costs, but not both. Insurance plus price-based incentives against risky treatment, however, can together improve patient welfare and reduce medical costs.