PubMed · 5220885
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E Bauch, H Brodthuhn. 1966-07-01. [Representative survey for 1963].. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5220885/
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In the 1990s, the general economy, as well as the economics of dental practice, were favorable. Should there be an extended period of economic downturn, three factors could be cause for economic concern; the wide ranges in spending for dental services in different parts of the country, the reliance on out-of-pocket spending for dental care, and the minimal level of government spending for these services.
This analysis questions the appropriateness of inflation adjustment in analyses of provider behavior by comparing results from estimations using adjusted financial variables with those from estimations using unadjusted financial variables. Using Medicaid claims from 1984-1991, we explored the effects of Medicaid reimbursement increases on dentists' participation. Using results from inflation adjusted analyses, we would conclude that a 23% nominal increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates yields no increase in the number of Medicaid children seen by dentists. In contrast, estimations based on unadjusted reimbursement rates suggest that this same 23% nominal increase in reimbursement leads to an expected 16-person (15.4%) increase in the number of Medicaid patients seen per provider per year. These analyses demonstrate that results are sensitive to adjustment for inflation. While adjusting for inflation is a generally accepted practice in health services research, doing so without evidence that providers respond to adjusted reimbursement may be unjustified. More research is needed to determine the appropriateness of inflation adjustment in analyses of provider behavior, and the circumstances under which it should or should not be done.