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Effects of Infertility Insurance Mandates on Fertility

Abstract

Infertility currently affects over 6 million individuals in the United States. While most health insurance plans nationwide do not cover infertility diagnoses or treatments, to date fifteen states have enacted some form of infertility insurance mandate. In this paper, I use data from the Vital Statistics Detail Natality Data and Census population estimates to examine whether these statelevel mandates were successful in increasing fertility rates. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I exploit variation in the enactment of mandates both across states and over time, and identify control groups that should not have been affected by infertility coverage. My results suggest that the mandates significantly increase first birth rates for women over 35, and these results are robust to a number of specification tests.

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File URL: http://web.williams.edu/Economics/wp/schmidtinfertility.pdf
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Paper provided by Department of Economics, Williams College in its series Department of Economics Working Papers with number 2005-07.

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Length: 33 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2005
Date of revision:
Publication status: published in Journal of Health Economics, May 2007, v. 26, iss. 3, pp. 431-46.
Handle: RePEc:wil:wileco:2005-07
Contact details of provider: Postal: Williamstown, MA 01267
Phone: 413 597 2476
Fax: 413 597 4045
Web page: http://econ.williams.eduEmail:


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Keywords: infertility; impaired fecundity; insurance mandates; fertility;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
  • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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  1. Papke, Leslie E & Wooldridge, Jeffrey M, 1996. "Econometric Methods for Fractional Response Variables with an Application to 401(K) Plan Participation Rates," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(6), pages 619-32, Nov.-Dec..
  2. Gruber, Jonathan, 1994. "State-mandated benefits and employer-provided health insurance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 433-464, November.
  3. Rajeev Dehejia & Adriana LLeras Muney, 2004. "Booms, Busts, and Babies' Health," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 119(3), pages 1091-1130, August.
  4. Jacob Alex Klerman, 1999. "U.S. Abortion Policy and Fertility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 261-264, May.
  5. Manning, Willard G. & Mullahy, John, 2001. "Estimating log models: to transform or not to transform?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 461-494, July.
  6. Marianne P. Bitler, 2005. "Effects of Increased Access to Infertility Treatment on Infant and Child Health Outcomes: Evidence from Health Insurance Mandate," Working Papers 330, RAND Corporation Publications Department.
  7. Schmidt, Lucie, 2007. "Effects of infertility insurance mandates on fertility," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 431-446, May.
  8. Lucie Schmidt, 2005. "Infertility Insurance Mandates and Fertility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 204-208, May.
  9. Summers, Lawrence H, 1989. "Some Simple Economics of Mandated Benefits," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 177-83, May.
  10. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-in-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275, February.
  11. Rothschild, Michael & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1976. "Equilibrium in Competitive Insurance Markets: An Essay on the Economics of Imperfect Information," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 90(4), pages 630-49, November.
  12. Thomas S. Dee, 2001. "The Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Ages on Teen Childbearing," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(4), pages 823-838.
  13. Robert Kaestner & Kosali Ilayperuma Simon, 2002. "Labor market consequences of state health insurance regulation," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(1), pages 136-159, October.
  14. Phillip B. Levine, 2002. "The Impact of Social Policy and Economic Activity Throughout the Fertility Decision Tree," NBER Working Papers 9021, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  15. Gruber, Jonathan, 1994. "The Incidence of Mandated Maternity Benefits," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 622-41, June.
  16. Marianne Bitler & Lucie Schmidt, 2006. "Health disparities and infertility: impacts of state-level insurance mandates," Department of Economics Working Papers 2006-04, Department of Economics, Williams College, revised Nov 2006.
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Cited by:

  1. Schmidt, Lucie, 2007. "Effects of infertility insurance mandates on fertility," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 431-446, May.
  2. Helmut Rainer & Geethanjali Selvaretnam & David Ulph, 2008. "Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) in a Model of Fertility Choice," Discussion Paper Series, Department of Economics 200801, Department of Economics, University of St. Andrews.
  3. Marianne P. Bitler & Lucie Schmidt, 2011. "Utilization of Infertility Treatments: The Effects of Insurance Mandates," NBER Working Papers 17668, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  4. Marianne P. Bitler, 2005. "Effects of Increased Access to Infertility Treatment on Infant and Child Health Outcomes: Evidence from Health Insurance Mandate," Working Papers 330, RAND Corporation Publications Department.
  5. Thomas DeLeire & Leonard M. Lopoo & Kosali I. Simon, 2007. "Medicaid Expansions and Fertility in the United States," NBER Working Papers 12907, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  6. Machado, Matilde Pinto & Sanz-de-Galdeano, Anna, 2011. "Coverage of Infertility Treatment and Fertility Outcomes: Do Women Catch Up?," CEPR Discussion Papers 8445, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  7. Joelle Abramowitz, 2014. "Turning back the ticking clock: the effect of increased affordability of assisted reproductive technology on women’s marriage timing," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 603-633, April.
  8. Lucie Schmidt, 2005. "Infertility Insurance Mandates and Fertility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 204-208, May.

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