Background: As rural hospitals in Kentucky face insolvency, stakeholders must assess the value of rural hospitals as well as alternatives such as rural clinics and private physician offices.
Objective: To identify the value of attributes of healthcare facilities based on Kentucky’s rural residents’ willingness-to-pay (WTP).
Methods: A survey instrument was created and distributed to ten counties in rural Kentucky. A conditional logit model was used to obtain baseline values and then a mixed logit model was used to address heterogeneity among consumers in estimating WTP. WTP values incorporated respondents’ demographic characteristics and their health status from self-reported frequency of use of medical services and distance from these services.
Results: The results indicate that on average respondents were willing to pay 69.90eachyearfortheattributeofafacilitythattreatspatientswhethertheyhavehealthinsuranceornot,comparedtoafacilitythatonlyacceptspatientswithprivatehealthinsurance.Uninsuredresidentswerewillingtopay81.15 for this attribute level.
Conclusion: The study suggests that uninsured residents value this attribute level of a facility that grants them access to care. Stakeholders may justify such welfare benefit amounts in support of the establishment or maintenance of such a facility