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Connecting Medicaid and child support: evidence from the TennCare disenrollment

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  • Lindsey Rose Bullinger

    (School of Public Policy)

  • Sebastian Tello-Trillo

    (University of Virginia)

Abstract

In 2005, Tennessee disenrolled about 170,000 adults from its Medicaid program. This health insurance reform has been shown to decrease access to care and worsen financial well-being. Those affected by the disenrollment greatly overlaps with the population responsible for paying child support. We examine whether the contraction of public health insurance eligibility in Tennessee affected child support receipt. We find that after TennCare disenrollment, parents with custody of children in Tennessee were 7.2 percentage points (16 percent) less likely to receive child support income. Child support income also decreased by $204 (20 percent). We document heterogenous effects, with the largest effect among custodial parents who are non-white, under age 40, and above the poverty line.

Suggested Citation

  • Lindsey Rose Bullinger & Sebastian Tello-Trillo, 2021. "Connecting Medicaid and child support: evidence from the TennCare disenrollment," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 785-812, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:19:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s11150-021-09547-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-021-09547-w
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