Extreme Temperatures, Hospital Utilization and Public Health Insurance Spending
ObjectivesThis study examines the impact of extreme temperatures on hospital utilization and public health insurance program spending in a country with no universal health coverage.MethodsUsing nationwide U.S. county-level panel data and a fixed effects model, we estimate the impact of annual variat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.ssph-journal.org/articles/10.3389/ijph.2025.1607160/full |
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| _version_ | 1823856959884886016 |
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| author | Yusun Kim Qing Miao Ling Zhu |
| author_facet | Yusun Kim Qing Miao Ling Zhu |
| author_sort | Yusun Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectivesThis study examines the impact of extreme temperatures on hospital utilization and public health insurance program spending in a country with no universal health coverage.MethodsUsing nationwide U.S. county-level panel data and a fixed effects model, we estimate the impact of annual variations in the number of hot and cold days on hospital utilization and medical reimbursements for low-income and elderly beneficiaries of public health insurance.ResultsOur results show that extreme heat and mild cold increase medical reimbursements to low-income beneficiaries, while extreme cold increases benefit transfer to the elderly. We find that extreme temperatures have particularly stronger positive effect on hospital admission and inpatient care utilization among old and poor patients. The fiscal impact of extreme temperatures is greater in areas with more generous income eligibility criteria for public health insurance.ConclusionThe study advances our understanding of how extreme temperatures affect healthcare utilization of low-income and elderly populations and the roles public health insurance plays in supporting them from increasing weather risks. Our findings suggest that climate change can augment the financial burden on governments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-159ee25595854aeeb519048e408bfce1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1661-8564 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-159ee25595854aeeb519048e408bfce12025-02-12T04:11:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.International Journal of Public Health1661-85642025-02-017010.3389/ijph.2025.16071601607160Extreme Temperatures, Hospital Utilization and Public Health Insurance SpendingYusun Kim0Qing Miao1Ling Zhu2Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Public Policy, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartment of Political Science, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United StatesObjectivesThis study examines the impact of extreme temperatures on hospital utilization and public health insurance program spending in a country with no universal health coverage.MethodsUsing nationwide U.S. county-level panel data and a fixed effects model, we estimate the impact of annual variations in the number of hot and cold days on hospital utilization and medical reimbursements for low-income and elderly beneficiaries of public health insurance.ResultsOur results show that extreme heat and mild cold increase medical reimbursements to low-income beneficiaries, while extreme cold increases benefit transfer to the elderly. We find that extreme temperatures have particularly stronger positive effect on hospital admission and inpatient care utilization among old and poor patients. The fiscal impact of extreme temperatures is greater in areas with more generous income eligibility criteria for public health insurance.ConclusionThe study advances our understanding of how extreme temperatures affect healthcare utilization of low-income and elderly populations and the roles public health insurance plays in supporting them from increasing weather risks. Our findings suggest that climate change can augment the financial burden on governments.https://www.ssph-journal.org/articles/10.3389/ijph.2025.1607160/fullextreme temperaturepublic health insurancepublic health spendinghealth expenditurehospitalizationhealthcare utilization |
| spellingShingle | Yusun Kim Qing Miao Ling Zhu Extreme Temperatures, Hospital Utilization and Public Health Insurance Spending International Journal of Public Health extreme temperature public health insurance public health spending health expenditure hospitalization healthcare utilization |
| title | Extreme Temperatures, Hospital Utilization and Public Health Insurance Spending |
| title_full | Extreme Temperatures, Hospital Utilization and Public Health Insurance Spending |
| title_fullStr | Extreme Temperatures, Hospital Utilization and Public Health Insurance Spending |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extreme Temperatures, Hospital Utilization and Public Health Insurance Spending |
| title_short | Extreme Temperatures, Hospital Utilization and Public Health Insurance Spending |
| title_sort | extreme temperatures hospital utilization and public health insurance spending |
| topic | extreme temperature public health insurance public health spending health expenditure hospitalization healthcare utilization |
| url | https://www.ssph-journal.org/articles/10.3389/ijph.2025.1607160/full |
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