Essays on the regulations of advanced practice nurses and the healthcare system /

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three essays on the effects of the regulations of Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) on the healthcare system. The first essay, "Health Insurance: Can Liberalized Regulations of Advanced Practice Nurses Help Curb Soaring Employment-Based Health Premiums?" considers the effect of APN regulations on employment-based health insurance premiums. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether employees receive lower health insurance premiums in states with liberalized APN regulations. My findings show that the average family health insurance premium is up to 18 percent lower in states with liberalized regulations. The second essay, "Advanced Practice Nurses Impact on Various Health Expenditure Categories" considers the impact of APN regulations on various categories of healthcare expenditures. I find that states with liberalized APN regulations have significantly lower overall personal healthcare. The final essay, "The Impact of Regulations of Advanced Practice Nurses on the Prevalence of Physician Types," considers the effect of APN regulations on the mix of physicians in a state. I find robust results suggesting that liberalized APN regulations reduce the prevalence of family practice physicians. There is also some evidence that liberalized APN regulations have an impact on other physician types depending on the age grouping of the physicians considered. The results of these studies have important policy implications for effective regulations of APNs.