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Healthcare and Hunger: Effects of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Food Insecurity in America

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  • Nicholas Moellman

Abstract

I analyze the impact of the ACA Medicaid expansions on food hardship in US households. Utilizing cross‐state, over time variation in Medicaid expansion, I find the ACA expansions reduced the probability a low‐income household is low food secure by between 2.3 and 3.9 percentage points, is very low food secure by between 2.7 and 4.6 percentage points, and is food insecure by 6.5 percentage points. The results are robust to a variety of definitions of food hardship, model specifications, and definitions of Medicaid expansion.

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  • Nicholas Moellman, 2020. "Healthcare and Hunger: Effects of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Food Insecurity in America," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 168-186, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:apecpp:v:42:y:2020:i:2:p:168-186
    DOI: 10.1093/aepp/ppz018
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    Cited by:

    1. Otto Lenhart, 2021. "The effects of paid family leave on food insecurity—evidence from California," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 615-639, September.
    2. Das, Debasmita, 2019. "SNAP Work Requirement and Food Insecurity," MPRA Paper 109964, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Oct 2021.
    3. Bidisha Mandal, 2022. "Rural–Urban Differences in Health Care Access and Utilization under the Medicaid Expansion," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 702-721, June.

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