Hospital capacity reporting in Germany during Covid-19
Reif S, Schubert S (2024)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2024
Journal
Book Volume: 228
Article Number: 106730
DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.106730
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals faced a unique predicament. Hospital care was urgently needed and society took efforts to prevent overwhelming hospitals. However, hospitals in case-based reimbursement schemes faced financial problems because of canceled elective care visits and government regulations to keep capacity free for Covid-19 patients. Therefore, emergency financing measures were implemented in many countries. We analyze how hospitals in Germany responded to a scheme that provided financial support if the intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rate in a county exceeded 75%. The scheme distributed over seven billion euros to hospitals and was notable because financial support depended on a measure (ICU occupancy rate) that hospitals could directly influence. To analyze hospitals’ reactions to this scheme, we employ event study analyses comparing ICU capacity before and after regions became eligible. We find no evidence of strategic reporting at an economically meaningful and hence empirically detectable scale.
Authors with CRIS profile
Simon Reif
Professur für Volkswirtschaftslehre mit dem Schwerpunkt Gesundheitsmärkte
Sabrina Schubert
Involved external institutions
Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Reif, S., & Schubert, S. (2024). Hospital capacity reporting in Germany during Covid-19. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2024.106730
MLA:
Reif, Simon, and Sabrina Schubert. "Hospital capacity reporting in Germany during Covid-19." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 228 (2024).
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