Healthcare centralisation: The health impacts of obstetric unit closures in the US
Over the last few decades, healthcare services in the United States have become more centralised.
This trend has been particularly acute for obstetric (OB) services with over 400 rural counties losing their only hospital-based OB unit between 1989 and 2019, in what has been dubbed a “maternity care crisis".
We study how these closures affected maternal and infant health via a difference-in-differences design comparing counties experiencing a closure with those not.
We find that closures lead to significant changes in obstetric practices such as induction and Caesarean section.
However, in contrast to concerns voiced in the public discourse, the effects on a range of maternal and infant health outcomes are negligible or slightly beneficial. While women travel farther to receive care, we find that closures induce women to receive higher quality care.
Speaker
Dr Corey White, Department of Economics, Monash Business School
Dr White is an applied microeconomist who studies questions related to health and the environment. He is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics at Monash University and a research affiliate at the IZA institute of labour economics.
Dr White is particularly interested in topics at the intersection of health and environmental economics.
He has recently published several papers concerning the health impacts of climate change and extreme temperature exposure. These papers have been featured in leading journals such as the Journal of Public Economics and the Journal of Health Economics.
Dr White has studied a range of other topics in health economics including access to health care and the economics of vaccination. Dr White's interdisciplinary work has been featured in leading journals outside the field of economics, including a recent paper on the economics of vaccination published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Organised by
Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School
As part of the Centre of Health Economics' vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series where visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
Contact shannon.stanwell@monash.edu for more details.
Event Details
- Date:
- 13 April 2022 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Venue:
- Hybrid (in-person and Zoom); Room H9.02, Level 9, Building H, Caulfield campus
- Categories:
- Health Economics; CHE Seminar
Description
Over the last few decades, healthcare services in the United States have become more centralised.
This trend has been particularly acute for obstetric (OB) services with over 400 rural counties losing their only hospital-based OB unit between 1989 and 2019, in what has been dubbed a “maternity care crisis".
We study how these closures affected maternal and infant health via a difference-in-differences design comparing counties experiencing a closure with those not.
We find that closures lead to significant changes in obstetric practices such as induction and Caesarean section.
However, in contrast to concerns voiced in the public discourse, the effects on a range of maternal and infant health outcomes are negligible or slightly beneficial. While women travel farther to receive care, we find that closures induce women to receive higher quality care.
Speaker
Dr Corey White, Department of Economics, Monash Business School
Dr White is an applied microeconomist who studies questions related to health and the environment. He is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics at Monash University and a research affiliate at the IZA institute of labour economics.
Dr White is particularly interested in topics at the intersection of health and environmental economics.
He has recently published several papers concerning the health impacts of climate change and extreme temperature exposure. These papers have been featured in leading journals such as the Journal of Public Economics and the Journal of Health Economics.
Dr White has studied a range of other topics in health economics including access to health care and the economics of vaccination. Dr White's interdisciplinary work has been featured in leading journals outside the field of economics, including a recent paper on the economics of vaccination published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Organised by
Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School
As part of the Centre of Health Economics' vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series where visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
Contact shannon.stanwell@monash.edu for more details.