EQUITY IN HEALTH-CARE UTILIZATION - FURTHER TESTS BASED ON HURDLE MODELS AND SWEDISH MICRO DATA

This paper tests the null hypothesis of no horizontal inequity in deli very of health care by use of count data hurdle models and Swedish mic ro data. It differs from most earlier work in three principal ways: Fi rst, the tests are carried out separately for physician and hospital c are; second, the tests are carried out separately for the probability of seeking care and the amount of care received (given any use); and t hird, the tests are based on a model that includes several socioeconom ic variables, e.g. income, education and size of community of residenc e. The paper rejects the hypothesis of no inequity because socioeconom ic factors also have significant effects on utilization, e.g. income a nd size of community of residence. Size of community of residence has a positive significant effect on the frequency of physician visits but not on the probability of visiting a physician. (C) 1997 by John Wile y & Sons, Ltd.