Volume 9, Number 1 (Winter) 1974
Beck, R. G. 1974. "The Effects of Co-payment on the Poor." Journal of Human Resources 9(1):129-142.
This paper presents estimates of the effects of co-payments upon the use of physicians' services by poor families. The study is based upon pooled cross-section random samples of the population of the Province of Saskatchewan. Data for the period 1963 to 1968 are analyzed. A dummy variable is used to capture the effects of introducing co-payments in 1968. Estimates are presented for various types of service in an attempt to observe differences between patient-elective and physician-elective services. The results indicate that co-payment is associated with an 18 percent reduction in utilization by the poor in 1968.
Financial support for this study was provided by the Government of Canada under National Health Grant No. 608-21-5. I wish to thank my colleague, J. M. Horne, for reading and commenting on the manuscript. In addition, Journal referees made a number of useful suggestions.
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