Inflation and Health Care Costs in Metropolitan Areas

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Perez-Chopra, Marisol^a | Grimes, Richard M.^{b; *}

Affiliations: [a] U.S. Department of Defense | [b] University of Texas at Houston

Correspondence: [*] Address correspondence to Dr. Richard M. Grimes at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, P.O. Box 20186, Houston, Texas 77225.

Abstract: This paper reports on an examination of the relationship between increases in health care costs in 23 Standard Metropolitan Statistical areas and various other changes in these communities over the period 1969–1977. The other changes examined consisted of 145 variables divided into 7 categories. The categories were termed demographic, economic, community illness, prices of other goods and services, hospital, physician, and technology factors. The results show that there was little relationship between rates of medical and hospital inflation and the examined variables. Total hospital costs could be related to several of the factors, the most important of which were demographic, economic, and hospital factors.

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1986-14407

Journal: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 341-355, 1986