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Effects of health insurance coverage on risky behaviors

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  • Jungtaek Lee

Abstract

Prior to implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, dependent health insurance coverage was typically available only for young adults under the age of 19. As of September 2010, the Affordable Care Act extended dependent health insurance coverage to include young adults up to the age of 26. I use the National Health Interview Survey for the sample period from 2011 to 2013 to analyze the causal relationship between the expansion of dependent coverage and risky behaviors including smoking and drinking as well as preventive care. I employ a regression discontinuity design to estimate the causal effect of health insurance coverage and overcome the endogeneity problem between insurance status and risky behaviors. When young adults become 26 years old, they are 7 to 10 percentage points more likely to lose health insurance than young adults under the age of 26. Although young adults over the age of 26 are generally aged out of insurance coverage, presence or absence of health insurance does not affect their smoking and drinking behaviors and their access to preventive care.

Suggested Citation

  • Jungtaek Lee, 2018. "Effects of health insurance coverage on risky behaviors," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 762-777, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:27:y:2018:i:4:p:762-777
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3634
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Andrey Aistov & Ekaterina Aleksandrova & Christopher J. Gerry, 2021. "Voluntary private health insurance, health-related behaviours and health outcomes: evidence from Russia," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(2), pages 281-309, March.
    5. Laetitia Lebihan, 2023. "The impact of a mandatory universal drug insurance program on health behaviors and outcomes," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(9), pages 2006-2046, September.
    6. Laetitia Lebihan, 2023. "The impact of a mandatory universal drug insurance program on health behaviors and outcomes," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(9), pages 2006-2046, September.
    7. Abraham Abebe Asfaw, 2019. "The effect of prescription drug insurance on health behavior: Evidence from Medicare Part D," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 403-418, March.
    8. Aparna Soni, 2020. "The effects of public health insurance on health behaviors: Evidence from the fifth year of Medicaid expansion," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(12), pages 1586-1605, December.
    9. Jing Jian Xiao & Chunsheng Tao, 2020. "Consumer finance/household finance: the definition and scope," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(1), pages 1-25, June.
    10. DiNardi, Michael, 2021. "Aging out of the federal dependent coverage mandate and purchases of prescription drugs with high rates of misuse," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    11. Caoimhe Rice & Judit Vall Castelló, 2018. "Hit where it hurts – healthcare access and intimate partner violence," Working Papers 2018/22, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    12. DiNardi, Michael, 2019. "Uninsurance and Purchases of Prescription Drugs with High Rates of Misuse: Evidence from the Federal Dependent Coverage Mandate," MPRA Paper 97769, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Gal Wettstein, 2019. "Health insurance and opioid deaths: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act young adult provision," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 666-677, May.

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