Does Physician Pay Aect Procedure Choice and Patient Health? Evidence from Medicaid C-section Use

摘要: I investigate the relationship between physician pay, C-section use, and infant health. First, confirm past results — when Medicaid pays doctors relatively more for Csections, they perform them often. bolster causal interpretation of this result by showing that salaried do not respond to pay dierential, using a much larger sample states years. Second, unlike work, look at how changing aects health outcomes. find increased use is associated with fewer deaths births covered Medicaid, suggesting rates may be too low some groups. Taken together, these findings suggest policies aimed decreasing costs lowering procedure have adverse consequences, especially low-income patients.