Working Paper: NBER ID: w20148
Authors: Silvia Barbaresco; Charles J. Courtemanche; Yanling Qi
Abstract: The first major insurance expansion of the Affordable Care Act – a provision requiring insurers to allow dependents to remain on parents’ health insurance until turning 26 – took effect in September 2010. We estimate this mandate’s impacts on numerous outcomes related to health care access, preventive care utilization, risky behaviors, and self-assessed health. We estimate difference-in-differences models with 23-25 year olds as the treatment group and 27-29 year olds as the control group. For the full sample, the dependent coverage provision increased the probabilities of having health insurance, a primary care doctor, and excellent self-assessed health, while reducing body mass index. However, the mandate also increased risky drinking and did not lead to any significant increases in preventive care utilization. Subsample analyses reveal particularly large gains for men and college graduates.
Keywords: Affordable Care Act; Dependent Coverage; Health Outcomes; Young Adults
JEL Codes: I12; I13; I18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| ACA dependent coverage provision (G52) | health insurance coverage (I13) |
| ACA dependent coverage provision (G52) | probability of having a primary care doctor (I11) |
| ACA dependent coverage provision (G52) | likelihood of foregone care due to cost (J17) |
| ACA dependent coverage provision (G52) | preventive care utilization (I11) |
| ACA dependent coverage provision (G52) | risky drinking behavior (I12) |
| ACA dependent coverage provision (G52) | body mass index (BMI) (I14) |
| ACA dependent coverage provision (G52) | self-assessed health (I14) |