Free GP care and psychological health: Quasi-experimental evidence from Ireland |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Wenlan School of Business, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China;2. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland;3. Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, Ireland;4. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA;1. International School of Economics and Management, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, PR China;2. Department of Economics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8S 4M4;3. Centre for Health Economics and Policy (CHEPA), McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8S 4K1;1. School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, FI-40014, Finland;2. Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Finland;1. Inter-American Development Bank, 1300 New York Ave., NW, SE-948, Washington, DC, 20577, United States;2. Centro de Estudios Regionales Cafeteros y Empresariales, Km 11 Via al Magdalena, Manizales, Caldas, Colombia;1. Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;2. School of Economics, University of Sydney, Australia;2. Boston College, Economics Department, Maloney Hall, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, United States;1. Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland;2. Department of Geriatric Medicine, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, The Netherlands;3. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland;4. Mercer''s Institute for Successful Ageing, St James''s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland;5. Department of Psychiatry, Mercer''s Institute for Successful Ageing, St. James''s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland;6. Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland |
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| Abstract: | There is considerable ambiguity in the literature on the effect of health insurance on health. While the majority of previous analyses have examined physical health outcomes, analyses of the broader dimensions of health such as psychological health and wellbeing have been less frequent. Using data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and a difference-in-differences research design, we examine the impact of free general practitioner (GP) care on psychological health among the older population and explore potential mechanisms. While we find no impact of public health insurance expansions on quality of life, life satisfaction, depression, and worry, the removal of GP fees for all those 70+ leads to a significantly lower level of perceived stress. The impact is mainly driven by poorer, sicker and single individuals. Further analyses show that removing GP fees leads to greater access to GP services and lower levels of financial stress. |
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| Keywords: | Public health insurance Psychological health Quasi-experiment Ageing |
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