Improving Healthcare Utilization in Retired Self-Employed Workers: Evidence From an Experiment in France

Area of Science:

• Health economics
• Social policy research
• Public health interventions

Background:

• Many at-risk individuals do not utilize available social benefits.
• Barriers to accessing social benefits can negatively impact healthcare utilization.
• Targeted interventions are needed to improve benefit uptake and health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a program addressing social benefit non-take-up among formerly self-employed workers.
• To assess the impact of information outreach and personalized assistance on healthcare utilization.
• To determine the effectiveness of strategies in overcoming healthcare access barriers.

Main Methods:

• Quasi-experimental design with synthetic difference-in-differences models (2014-2016).
• Analysis of healthcare utilization among targeted at-risk formerly self-employed workers in France.
• Comparison of proactive information outreach versus combined outreach with personalized assistance.

Main Results:

• Proactive information outreach alone increased healthcare utilization by 0.6%.
• Personalized assistance combined with outreach amplified the increase to 2%.
• Improved access to services, increased healthcare consumption, and a shift towards preventive care were observed.

Conclusions:

• Targeted outreach and personalized assistance are effective in increasing social benefit uptake and healthcare utilization.
• Integrated benefit packages and proactive strategies can overcome barriers to healthcare access.
• Interventions should focus on tailored approaches to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.