Competition among hospitals.
The traditional view of hospital competition has posited that hospitals compete primarily along 'quality' dimensions, in the form of fancy equipment to attract admitting physicians and pleasant surroundings to entice patients. Price competition among hospitals is thought to be non-existent. This paper estimates the effects of various hospital market characteristics on hospital prices and expenses in an attempt to determine the form of hospital competition. The results suggest that both price and quality competition are greater in markets that are less concentrated, although the net effect of the two on prices is insignificant. It appears, therefore, that, despite important distortions, hospital markets are not immune to standard competitive forces.
D002391:Catchment Area, Health / Q000191:economics; D003625:Data Collection; D004465:Economic Competition; D004467:Economics; D004469:Economics, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005249:Fees and Charges / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States