Working Paper: NBER ID: w30299
Authors: Sarah Miller; Laura Wherry; Gloria Aldana
Abstract: We examine the short- and long-term effects of expanded Medicaid pregnancy coverage to undocumented immigrants using a novel dataset that links California birth records to Census surveys and administrative records on mortality, earnings, educational attainment, and public program participation. We identify siblings born to immigrant mothers before and after the policy and implement a mothers’ fixed effects design to estimate policy impacts. We find the policy increased insurance and prenatal care among pregnant immigrant women, and improved birth outcomes. Later in life, their children experience better educational outcomes, have fewer children at young ages, and receive less public support.
Keywords: Undocumented immigrants; Medicaid; Prenatal care; Health outcomes; Public policy
JEL Codes: H75; I13; I18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Policy change (D78) | Medical coverage for prenatal care (I13) |
| Policy change (D78) | Use of prenatal care (J13) |
| Use of prenatal care (J13) | Birth outcomes (J13) |
| Use of prenatal care (J13) | Incidence of small-for-gestational-age births (J13) |
| Policy change (D78) | Long-term educational outcomes (I21) |
| Policy change (D78) | Reduced reliance on public supports (H53) |