Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Does direct primary care affect medicare opt-out rates? Evidence from state business of insurance legislation(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2022) Vogel, Trevor Jacob; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mariana CarreraPast economic research has examined factors influencing the degree to which physicians accept assignment from Medicare and allow new Medicare patients into their practice. There is no known examination of physicians' decision to opt out of Medicare completely. I study this decision in the context of Direct Primary Care, a growing alternative to fee-for-service healthcare delivery in the United States that has been enabled by state-level policy shielding DPC practitioners from insurance regulations. Using the publicly available National Provider Identifier Registry and Opt- Out Affidavit datasets in a difference-in-difference framework, I study the effect of said policy on the propensity of physicians to opt out of Medicare. In my main analysis, I estimate that treatment increases the likelihood of family physicians opting out by 38 - 46% of the panel's baseline opt-out rate, but find no consistent effect on internal medicine providers. This relationship is valuable for policymakers and healthcare providers to keep in mind in evaluating DPC and possible Medicare reform.Item Development and analysis of the interest-group theory of government(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1984) Engen, Eric MathisItem An analysis of the enactment of anti-price gouging laws(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2008) Davis, Cale Wren; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Randal R. Rucker.Anti-price gouging (APG) laws are state-level price controls only effective during times of emergency. From standard economic analysis, there are no apparent beneficiaries from price ceilings. Thus, the enactment of APG laws is puzzling from an economic perspective. The passage of APG laws is first analyzed with case studies of all thirty-one state laws. The case studies include information such as disasters that triggered the enactment of the laws, detail on enforcement and penalties, and information on supporters and opponents. This information is used to help determine why policymakers enact the laws. From the case studies, it is apparent that state officials devote significant resources to enforcing APG laws. Thus, it can be concluded that APG are not symbolic, toothless measures. A general lack of understanding of markets also appears to play a role in the laws' enactments.