The United States Government Provided Insurance, a Time-Series Analysis

Abstract

This thesis analyses the United States’ health care market, with particular attention given to the effect of the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid on U.S health care expenditure. Econometric analysis was conducted for the years 1948-2007 of numerous models which include variables obtained from various publications and institutions. A series of statistical models were used to investigate the extent to which Medicare and Medicaid influenced United States health care market. In addition, a Chow test was conducted in order to examine if there indeed was a structural break in the fundamental determinants of health care expenditure after the introduction of Government sponsored insurance policies.