Working Paper: NBER ID: w29838
Authors: Jonathan Gruber; Adrienne Sabety; Rishi Sood; Jin Yung Bae
Abstract: In 2016, New York City designed and implemented an intervention reducing frictions in accessing safety-net care: randomly making initial primary care appointments for 2,428 undocumented immigrants. We leverage a novel survey-administrative data linkage to show that the program resulted in a more efficient allocation of care. The program increased self-reported access to primary care, leading to a 21% fall in emergency department (ED) use. This effect was driven by high-risk individuals whose ED visits fell by 42% on average. Among those visiting sponsored clinics, chronic condition diagnoses and preventive screens increased, positively affecting long-run health.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I10; I14; I18; J15; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| ActionHealth NYC program (I19) | decrease in emergency department (ED) visits (I19) |
| ActionHealth NYC program (I19) | increase in primary care access (I11) |
| ActionHealth NYC program (I19) | increase in doctor’s office visits (I11) |
| ActionHealth NYC program (I19) | increase in chronic condition diagnoses (I12) |
| ActionHealth NYC program (I19) | increase in diabetes screenings (I12) |
| ActionHealth NYC program (I19) | increase in blood pressure screenings (I14) |
| increase in chronic condition diagnoses (I12) | decrease in long-run mortality from cardiovascular disease (I12) |
| ActionHealth NYC program (I19) | decrease in ED charges associated with non-admitted visits (I19) |