A flexible parametric selection model for non-normal data with application to health care usage

I examine the effects of insurance status and managed care on hospitalization spells, and develop a new approach for sample selection problems in parametric duration models. MLE of the Flexible Parametric Selection (FPS) model does not require numerical integration or simulation techniques. I discuss application to the exponential, Weibull, log-logistic and gamma duration models. Applying the model to the hospitalization data indicates that the FPS model may be preferred even in cases in which other parametric approaches are available.