Economic incentives, health status and health services utilisation

The impact on utilisation of differential public entitlements to free health services is analysed, using data for a large sample of Irish households. GP visiting rates are seen to be significantly higher for those on low incomes whose costs are covered by the State than for those who pay for such care, having controlled for other characteristics including health status. The importance of taking differences in health status into account in attempting to distinguish the effects of economic incentives is shown both for GP visits and hospital stays.