Waiting times and socioeconomic status among elderly Europeans: evidence from SHARE

Waiting times for specialist consultation and non‐emergency surgery are often considered an equitable rationing mechanism in the public healthcare sector, because access to care is not based on socioeconomic status. This study tests empirically this claim using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health economics 2009-11, Vol.18 (11), p.1295-1306
Main Authors: Siciliani, Luigi, Verzulli, Rossella
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Consultation
Correlation analysis
count data regression
Databases as Topic
Europe
Female
General Surgery
Greece
Health care industry
Health Care Surveys
Health economics
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
inpatient surgery
Male
Manycountries
Middle Aged
Older people
outpatient surgery
Referral and Consultation
Social Class
Socioeconomic factors
specialist consultation
Specialists
Studies
Surgery
Sweden
Waiting Lists
waiting time
Waiting times
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Summary:Waiting times for specialist consultation and non‐emergency surgery are often considered an equitable rationing mechanism in the public healthcare sector, because access to care is not based on socioeconomic status. This study tests empirically this claim using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The sample includes nine European countries: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. For specialist consultation, we find that individuals with high education experience a reduction in waiting times of 68% in Spain, 67% in Italy and 34% in France (compared with individuals with low education). Individuals with intermediate education report a waiting‐time reduction of 74% in Greece (compared with individuals with low education). There is also evidence of a negative and significant association between education and waiting times for non‐emergency surgery in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden. High education reduces waits by 66, 32 and 48%, respectively. We also find income effects, although generally modest. An increase in income of 10 000 Euro reduces waiting times for specialist consultation by 8% in Germany and waiting times for non‐emergency surgery by 26% in Greece. Surprisingly, an increase in income of 10 000 Euro increases waits by 11% in Sweden. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:1057-9230
1099-1050
DOI:10.1002/hec.1429