Expanding health insurance for the elderly of the Philippines
By: Michael R.M. Abrigo, Timothy J. Halliday, Teresa Molina
Contributors: Halliday, Timothy James, 1976- author; Molina, Teresa (Of Philippine Institute for Development Studies), author; Philippine Institute for Development Studies
Series: Discussion paper series -- no. 2019-37; Discussion paper series (Philippine Institute for Development Studies) -- no. 2019-37.
Publisher: Philippine Institute for Development Studies
Published: 2019
Place of publication: Quezon City, Philippines
Language: eng
Number of pages: 45
Subjects: Health insurance; Older people; Medical care
Description: This paper evaluates a Filipino policy that expanded health insurance coverage of its senior citizens, aged 60 and older, in 2014. Using regression discontinuity and difference-in-differences methods, we find that the expansion increases insurance coverage by approximately 16 percentage points. We show that the compliers, those induced by the policy to obtain insurance, are disproportionately female and largely from the middle of the socioeconomic distribution. Instrumental variables estimates indicate that out-of-pocket medical expenditures more than double among the compliers. We argue that this is most likely driven by an outward shift in the medical demand curve.
Notes: "December 2019"

Includes bibilographical references (pages 36-37).