Working Paper: NBER ID: w9781
Authors: George J. Borjas
Abstract: Although the 1996 welfare reform legislation limited the eligibility of immigrant households to receive assistance, many states chose to protect their immigrant populations by offering state-funded aid to these groups. I exploit these changes in eligibility rules to examine the link between the welfare cutbacks and health insurance coverage in the immigrant population. The data reveal that the cutbacks in the Medicaid program did not reduce health insurance coverage rates among targeted immigrants. The immigrants responded by increasing their labor supply, thereby raising the probability of being covered by employer-sponsored health insurance.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I18; I38; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| PRWORA (I38) | Medicaid cutbacks (I18) |
| Medicaid cutbacks (I18) | Increase in labor supply (J20) |
| Increase in labor supply (J20) | Increase in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage (I13) |
| Medicaid cutbacks (I18) | Increase in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage (I13) |
| Increase in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage (I13) | Offset Medicaid cutbacks (I18) |