Working Paper: NBER ID: w14173
Authors: Janet Currie; Sandra Decker; Wanchuan Lin
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of expanding public health insurance eligibility for older children. Using data from the National Health Interview Surveys from 1986 to 2005, we first show that although income continues to be an important predictor of children's health status, the importance of income for predicting health has fallen for children 9 to 17 in recent years. We then investigate the extent to which the dramatic expansions in public health insurance coverage for these children in the past decade are responsible for the decline in the importance of income. We find that while eligibility for public health insurance unambiguously improves current utilization of preventive care, it has little effect on current health status. However, we find some evidence that Medicaid eligibility in early childhood has positive effects on future health. This may indicate that adequate medical care early on puts children on a better health trajectory, resulting in better health as they grow.
Keywords: Public Health Insurance; Children's Health; Income Disparities; Medicaid; SCHIP
JEL Codes: I11; I12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| public health insurance eligibility (I13) | current utilization of preventive care among children (J13) |
| public health insurance eligibility (I13) | current health status (I12) |
| Medicaid eligibility in early childhood (I18) | future health (I15) |
| increased insurance coverage (G52) | improved health outcomes over time (I14) |
| expansions in public health insurance eligibility (I13) | reduction in the importance of income as a determinant of health among older children (I14) |