A Satellite Account for Health in the United States
This paper develops a satellite account for the US health sector and measures productivity growth in health care for the elderly population between 1999 and 2012. We measure the change in medical spending and health outcomes for a comprehensive set of 80 conditions. Medical care has positive productivity growth over the time period, with aggregate productivity growth of 1.5% per year. However, there is significant heterogeneity in productivity growth. Care for cardiovascular disease has had very high productivity growth. In contrast, care for people with musculoskeletal conditions has been costly but has not led to improved outcomes.
Non-Technical Summaries
- As health care costs continue to grow in the United States, a crucial question is whether the increased spending is productive....
Published Versions
David M. Cutler & Kaushik Ghosh & Kassandra L. Messer & Trivellore Raghunathan & Allison B. Rosen & Susan T. Stewart, 2022. "A Satellite Account for Health in the United States," American Economic Review, vol 112(2), pages 494-533.
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