Is There a VA Advantage? Evidence from Dually Eligible Veterans
We study public vs. private provision of health care for veterans aged 65 and older who may receive care provided by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and in private hospitals financed by Medicare. Utilizing the ambulance design of Doyle et al. (2015), we find that the VA reduces 28-day mortality by 46% (4.5 percentage points) and that these survival gains are persistent. The VA also reduces 28-day spending by 21% and delivers strikingly different reported services relative to private hospitals. We find suggestive evidence of complementarities between continuity of care, health IT, and integrated care.
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Copy CitationDavid C. Chan Jr, David Card, and Lowell Taylor, "Is There a VA Advantage? Evidence from Dually Eligible Veterans," NBER Working Paper 29765 (2022), https://doi.org/10.3386/w29765.Download Citation
Non-Technical Summaries
- Millions of elderly veterans are “dually eligible” to receive hospital care in two distinct settings: at public facilities funded by...
Published Versions
David C. Chan & David Card & Lowell Taylor, 2023. "Is There a VA Advantage? Evidence from Dually Eligible Veterans," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(11), pages 3003-3043, November, DOI: 10.1257/aer.20211638. citation courtesy of 
David C. Chan & David Card & Lowell Taylor, 2023. "Is There a VA Advantage? Evidence from Dually Eligible Veterans," American Economic Review, vol 113(11), pages 3003-3043.
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