Distance to Hospital and Children's Use of Preventive Care: Is Being Closer Better,and for Whom? |
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| Authors: | Janet Currie Patricia B Reagan |
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| Institution: | Professor, Department of Economics, University of California at Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095. Phone 1–310–206–8380, Fax 1–310–825–9528, E-mail;Professor, Department of Economics, Ohio State University, Center for Human Resource Research, 921 Chatham Lane, Columbus, OH 43221. Phone 1–614–487–0667, Fax 1–614–442–7329, E-mail |
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| Abstract: | This article examines the effect of distance to hospital on preventive care among children using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth's Child-Mother file matched to data from the 1990 American Hospital Association Survey. Among central-city black children, each additional mile from the hospital is associated with a 3-percentage-point decline in the probability of having had a checkup (from a mean baseline of 74%). Moreover, the effects are similar for privately and publicly insured black children. For this group, access to providers is as important as private insurance coverage in predicting use of preventive care. |
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