RESUMO
Objective. This article examines racial health disparities among the elderly in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It also explores whether these disparities differ among income groups. Methods. The study follows the conceptual framework developed by LaVeist (1994). A multistage analysis and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition are used to explore the sources of racial disparities in health. Results. White seniors report better health than Black seniors. This is the case even after controlling for baseline health conditions and several demographic, socioeconomic, and family support characteristics. Discussion. This article suggests that the two most important factors driving racial disparities in health among seniors are historical differences in rural living conditions and current income. Present economic conditions are more relevant to racial disparities among poor than among rich seniors. Racial differences in health not attributable to observable characteristics are more important when comparing individuals in the upper half of the income distribution.
Assuntos
População Negra , Nível de Saúde , Disparidades em Assistência à Saúde , População Urbana , População Branca , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Brasil , Serviços de Saúde para Idosos , Humanos , Renda , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Pobreza , Qualidade da Assistência à Saúde , Fatores SocioeconômicosRESUMO
This paper evaluates the impact of Colombia's subsidized health insurance program (SUBS) on medical care utilization. Colombia's SUBS program is a demand-side subsidy intended for low-income families, where the screening of beneficiaries takes place in decentralized locations across the country. Due to the self-selection problems associated with non-experimental data, we implement Propensity Score Matching (PSM) methods to measure the impact of this subsidy on medical care utilization. By combining unique household survey data with community and regional data, we are able to compute propensity scores in a way that is consistent with both the local government's decision to offer the subsidy, and with the individual's decision to accept the subsidy. Although the application of PSM using these rich datasets helps to achieve a balance between the treatment and control groups along observable dimensions, we also present instrumental variable estimates to control for the potential endogeneity of program participation. Using both methods, we find that Colombia's subsidized insurance program greatly increased medical care utilization among the country's poor and uninsured. This evidence supports the case for other Latin American countries implementing similar subsidy programs for health insurance for the poor.