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The effect of Medicaid on recidivism: Evidence from Medicaid suspension and termination policies

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  • Gultekin Gollu
  • Mariyana Zapryanova

Abstract

Although people who go through the prison and jail system in the United States have significant health care needs, many leave it with no health insurance and, as a result, they experience gaps in access to care. Exploiting variation in Medicaid eligibility policies for incarcerated individuals across states and using administrative prison release data, we find that suspending rather than terminating Medicaid upon incarceration decreases the probability of returning to prison within 1 and 3 years of release by 2.91 and 4.58 percentage points, respectively. These effects are observed among different types of prisoners, but are greater for Black and repeat offenders. Our results suggest that faster and easier reinstatement of Medicaid benefits upon prison release decreases recidivism rate and are directly relevant to ongoing policy debates on the health care coverage of vulnerable populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Gultekin Gollu & Mariyana Zapryanova, 2022. "The effect of Medicaid on recidivism: Evidence from Medicaid suspension and termination policies," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(2), pages 326-372, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:89:y:2022:i:2:p:326-372
    DOI: 10.1002/soej.12600
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    Cited by:

    1. Analisa Packham & David Slusky, 2023. "Accessing the Safety Net: How Medicaid Affects Health and Recidivism," NBER Working Papers 31971, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Marguerite Burns & Laura Dague, 2023. "In-Kind Welfare Benefits and Reincarceration Risk: Evidence from Medicaid," NBER Working Papers 31394, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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