IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/soecon/v74y2008i4p1070-1104.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What about Mom? The Forgotten Beneficiary of the Medicaid Expansions

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Kutinova
  • Karen Smith Conway

Abstract

This paper contributes to evidence regarding the effectiveness of the Medicaid expansions by focusing on a key beneficiary—the mother—who has previously been overlooked. Using the Natality Detail Files for 1989‐1996, we estimate the relationship between Medicaid eligibility and maternal health outcomes for several treatment groups and a control group. Potential biases caused by improved reporting are addressed by using a “straw man” maternal complication not preventable with prenatal care. Our results indicate that increased Medicaid eligibility may have led to fewer preventable maternal complications among women most likely to have benefited from the Medicaid expansions.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Kutinova & Karen Smith Conway, 2008. "What about Mom? The Forgotten Beneficiary of the Medicaid Expansions," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(4), pages 1070-1104, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:74:y:2008:i:4:p:1070-1104
    DOI: 10.1002/j.2325-8012.2008.tb00882.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2325-8012.2008.tb00882.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/j.2325-8012.2008.tb00882.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Currie, Janet & Grogger, Jeffrey, 2002. "Medicaid expansions and welfare contractions: offsetting effects on prenatal care and infant health?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 313-335, March.
    2. Janet Currie & Jonathan Gruber, 1996. "Health Insurance Eligibility, Utilization of Medical Care, and Child Health," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(2), pages 431-466.
    3. Sandra Decker & Carol Rapaport, 2002. "Medicare and Disparities in Women's Health," NBER Working Papers 8761, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Joyce Ted & Kaestner Robert & Korenman Sanders, 2003. "Welfare Reform and Non-Marital Fertility in the 1990s: Evidence from Birth Records," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-36, December.
    5. Amitabh Chandra & Jonathan Skinner, 2003. "Geography and Racial Health Disparities," NBER Working Papers 9513, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Janet Currie & Jonathan Gruber, 1997. "The Technology of Birth: Health Insurance, Medical Interventions, and Infant Health," NBER Working Papers 5985, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Arline Geronimus & John Bound, 1990. "Black/white differences in women’s reproductive-related health status: evidence from vital statistics," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 27(3), pages 457-466, August.
    8. Karen Smith Conway & Andrea Kutinova, 2006. "Maternal health: does prenatal care make a difference?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(5), pages 461-488, May.
    9. Sachs, B.P. & Brown, D.A.J. & Driscoll, S.G. & Schulman, E. & Acker, D. & Ransil, B.J. & Jewett, J.F., 1988. "Hemorrhage, infection, toxemia, and cardiac disease, 1954-85: Causes for their declining role in maternal mortality," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 78(6), pages 671-675.
    10. David M. Cutler & Jonathan Gruber, 1996. "Does Public Insurance Crowd out Private Insurance?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(2), pages 391-430.
    11. Currie, Janet & Gruber, Jonathan, 1996. "Saving Babies: The Efficacy and Cost of Recent Changes in the Medicaid Eligibility of Pregnant Women," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1263-1296, December.
    12. Kaestner, R. & Joyce, T. & Racine, A., 2001. "Medicaid eligibility and the incidence of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations for children," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 305-313, January.
    13. Busch, Susan H. & Duchovny, Noelia, 2005. "Family coverage expansions: Impact on insurance coverage and health care utilization of parents," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 876-890, September.
    14. Ai, Chunrong & Norton, Edward C., 2003. "Interaction terms in logit and probit models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 123-129, July.
    15. Marianne P. Bitler & Janet Currie, 2005. "Does WIC work? The effects of WIC on pregnancy and birth outcomes," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(1), pages 73-91.
    16. Robert Kaestner & Elizabeth Tarlov, 2006. "Changes in the welfare caseload and the health of low-educated mothers," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(3), pages 623-643.
    17. James P. Ziliak & David N. Figlio & Elizabeth E. Davis & Laura S. Connolly, 2000. "Accounting for the Decline in AFDC Caseloads: Welfare Reform or the Economy?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 35(3), pages 570-586.
    18. Currie, Janet & Gruber, Jonathan, 2001. "Public health insurance and medical treatment: the equalizing impact of the Medicaid expansions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 63-89, October.
    19. Kogan, M.D. & Kotelchuck, M. & Alexander, G.R. & Johnson, W.E., 1994. "Racial disparities in reported prenatal care advice from health care providers," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 84(1), pages 82-88.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thomas Buchmueller & John C. Ham & Lara D. Shore-Sheppard, 2015. "The Medicaid Program," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 1, pages 21-136, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Marianne Bitler & Hilary W. Hoynes, 2006. "Welfare Reform and Indirect Impacts on Health," NBER Working Papers 12642, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Sarah Miller & Laura Wherry & Gloria Aldana, 2022. "Covering Undocumented Immigrants: The Effects of a Large-Scale Prenatal Care Intervention," NBER Working Papers 30299, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Manan Roy, 2011. "How Well Does the U.S. Government Provide Health Insurance?," Departmental Working Papers 1102, Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics.
    5. Almond, Douglas & Currie, Janet, 2011. "Human Capital Development before Age Five," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 15, pages 1315-1486, Elsevier.
    6. Andrea Menclova, 2013. "The Effects of Unemployment on Prenatal Care Use and Infant Health," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 400-420, December.
    7. Manan Roy, 2014. "How well does the U.S. Government provide health insurance for infants?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 253-284, February.
    8. Marianne P. Bitler & Madeline Zavodny, 2014. "Medicaid: A Review of the Literature," NBER Working Papers 20169, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Leemore Dafny & Jonathan Gruber, 2000. "Does Public Insurance Improve the Efficiency of Medical Care? Medicaid Expansions and Child Hospitalizations," NBER Working Papers 7555, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Freedman, Seth & Lin, Haizhen & Simon, Kosali, 2015. "Public health insurance expansions and hospital technology adoption," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 117-131.
    11. Zavodny, Madeline & Bitler, Marianne P., 2010. "The effect of Medicaid eligibility expansions on fertility," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(5), pages 918-924, September.
    12. Liu, Hong & Zhao, Zhong, 2014. "Does health insurance matter? Evidence from China’s urban resident basic medical insurance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 1007-1020.
    13. Guldi, Melanie & Hamersma, Sarah, 2023. "The effects of pregnancy-related Medicaid expansions on maternal, infant, and child health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    14. Jonathan Gruber, 1997. "Health Insurance for Poor Women and Children in the US: Lessons from the Past Decade," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 11, pages 169-211, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Karen Smith Conway & Andrea Kutinova, 2006. "Maternal health: does prenatal care make a difference?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(5), pages 461-488, May.
    16. Thompson, Owen, 2017. "The long-term health impacts of Medicaid and CHIP," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 26-40.
    17. repec:mrr:papers:wp341 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Lincoln H. Groves, 2020. "Still “Saving Babies”? The Impact Of Child Medicaid Expansions On High School Completion Rates," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 109-126, January.
    19. Sommers, Benjamin D. & Oellerich, Donald, 2013. "The poverty-reducing effect of Medicaid," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 816-832.
    20. Koch, Thomas G., 2013. "Using RD design to understand heterogeneity in health insurance crowd-out," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 599-611.
    21. Jonathan Gruber, 1997. "Policy Watch: Medicaid and Uninsured Women and Children," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 199-208, Fall.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:74:y:2008:i:4:p:1070-1104. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)2325-8012 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.