Working Paper: NBER ID: w10549
Authors: Marianne Bitler; Jonah Gelbach; Hilary Hoynes
Abstract: We investigate the relationship between welfare reform and health insurance, health care utilization, and self-reported measures of health status for women aged 20-45, using nationally representative data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We present estimates from both difference-in-difference models (applied to single women and single women with children) and difference-in-difference-in-difference models (using married women and single women without children as comparison groups). We find that welfare reform is associated with reductions in health insurance coverage and specific measures of health care utilization, as well as an increase in the likelihood of needing care but finding it unaffordable. We find no statistically significant effects of reform on health status. Overall, effects are somewhat larger for Hispanics compared to blacks and low educated women.
Keywords: welfare reform; health insurance; health care utilization; self-reported health status
JEL Codes: I3; I1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| welfare reform (I38) | health insurance coverage (I13) |
| welfare reform (I38) | probability of being insured and not employed (G52) |
| welfare reform (I38) | probability of being insured and employed (G52) |
| welfare reform (I38) | health care utilization (I11) |
| welfare reform (I38) | likelihood of needing health care but being unable to afford it (I13) |
| welfare reform (I38) | overall health status (I14) |