The Impact of Medical and Nursing Home Expenses on Savings

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
Year: 2014
Volume: 6
Issue: 3
Pages: 29-72

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We consider a life-cycle model with idiosyncratic risk in earnings, out-of-pocket medical and nursing home expenses, and survival. Partial insurance is available through welfare, Medicaid, and social security. Calibrating the model to the United States we show that savings for old-age, out-of-pocket expenses account for 13.5 per- cent of aggregate wealth, half of which is due to nursing home expenses; cross-sectional out-of-pocket nursing home risk accounts for 3 percent of aggregate wealth and substantially slows down wealth decumulation at older ages; and all newborns would benefit if social insurance for nursing home stays was made more generous.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejmac:v:6:y:2014:i:3:p:29-72
Journal Field
Macro
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25