Childhood Medicaid Coverage and Later-Life Health Care Utilization

Laura Wherry; Sarah Miller; Robert Kaestner; Bruce D. Meyer

doi:10.1162/rest_a_00677

Childhood Medicaid Coverage and Later-Life Health Care Utilization

Laura Wherry¹; Sarah Miller²; Robert Kaestner³; Bruce D. Meyer⁴

¹ David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles · ² Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and NBER · ³ University of Illinois and NBER · ⁴ University of Chicago and NBER

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2018 open access

Exploiting a discontinuity in childhood Medicaid eligibility based on date of birth, we find that more years of childhood eligibility are associated with fewer hospitalizations in adulthood. For blacks, we find a 7% to 15% decrease in hospitalizations and a suggestive 2% to 5% decrease in emergency department visits, but no similar effect for nonblacks. The effects are pronounced for utilization related to chronic illnesses and for patients living in low-income postal codes. Calculations suggest that lower rates of hospitalizations during one year in adulthood for blacks offset between 2% and 4% of the initial costs of expanding Medicaid for all children.

DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00677
Volume: 100 (2)
Pages: 287-302
Language: en
Export: BibTeX
Sources: openalex crossref