In this thesis, a microsimulation model was developed using methods which
were intended to overcome the main criticism of earlier models developed in
Australia - that their estimation of the distribution of health benefits1 across
income groups was not accurate. To determine whether the new model �
called the Person Level Model of Pharmaceutical Benefits (PLM-PB) � was
more accurate, two typical means-based models were also built to replicate the
most commonly used methods in Australia.
A comparison of the results of the three models revealed that while they
produced comparable results at the aggregate when compared with
administrative data, the PLM-PB was much more accurate in capturing
distributional differences by beneficiary and medication type. The PLM-PB
also indicated that, as anticipated, PBS benefits were more pro-poor than earlier
means-based models had suggested. The PLM-PB had another important
advantage in that the method also captured the variation in the use of
medication and thus the subsidy received within sub-populations.
As the PLM-PB was found to be more accurate than the means-based model, a
multivariate analysis of the distribution of PBS subsidy across a number of
socio-economic groups was undertaken as an example application of the model.
It was found that health status (defined by number of recent illnesses) and
concession card type were most important in explaining the amount of PBS
subsidy received. This indicates that the distribution of PBS expenditure meets
the policy objectives of assisting those most in need, whether need is defined as
poor health or low income.
1 Benefits refer to expenditure as transfers from government to individuals rather than the general health
benefits of using medication.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219314 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Schofield, Deborah, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Information Sciences & Engineering |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Deborah Schofield |
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