3 ms·
There's one article in particular that I'd like to link to, but I'm having difficulty digging it up. If you'd like some data to play with, however: https://ww
by neild 16y ago
There's one article in particular that I'd like to link to, but I'm having difficulty digging it up.
If you'd like some data to play with, however:
https://www.cms.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/05_NationalHealthAccountsStateHealthAccountsResidence.asp#TopOfPage https://www.cms.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/05_NationalHeal...
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/ranks/rank18.html http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/ranks/rank18.htm...
The former contains Medicare spending per enrollee on a per-state basis, and the latter has the number of doctors per capita.
Of the top ten states in Medicare spending per enrollee, six are in the top ten in doctors per capita.
This is all just a back of the envelope calculation, of course, but it does argue against the thesis that more doctors equals cheaper health care.
- yummyfajitas 16y agoInteresting, but hardly conclusive. Two problems with the conclusion you are trying to make: Cheaper health care != less money spent on health care. Consumers might purchase more health care even as prices come down (resulting in more money spent). This data doesn't show the direction of causality. It could just as easily reflect doctors chasing money as it could reflect prices increasing as a result of doctors becoming available. (Similarly, states with more illegal immigrants tend to spend more money on farm labor. Do illegal immigrants raise the prices of farm labor?) Still, it's interesting data to see.