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Does increasing health care access reduce disability insurance caseloads? Evidence from the rural United States

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  • Garrett Anstreicher

Abstract

This paper leverages the expansion of the United States' Community Health Center program over the 21st century to investigate whether improved access to health care reduces disability insurance (DI) participation at the county level. I find that the introduction of a health center that specializes in mental health and substance abuse services is associated with a 0.09 to 0.40 percentage point reduction in working‐age DI enrollment in rural counties. A cost‐benefit analysis indicates that the money saved from reduced program participation can account for more than a third of the cost the federal government faces in funding well‐targeted health care access initiatives.

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  • Garrett Anstreicher, 2021. "Does increasing health care access reduce disability insurance caseloads? Evidence from the rural United States," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 786-802, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:30:y:2021:i:4:p:786-802
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4220
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    1. Chris Sampson’s journal round-up for 29th March 2021
      by Chris Sampson in The Academic Health Economists' Blog on 2021-03-29 11:00:13

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    Cited by:

    1. Matías Mrejen & Rudi Rocha, 2021. "Hiring Mental Health Professionals: Evidence from a Large-Scale Primary Care Policy in Brazil," Institutional Studies 03, Instituto de Estudos para Políticas de Saúde.

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