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Did Expanding Medicaid Affect Welfare Participation?

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  • John C. Ham
  • Lara D. Shore-Sheppard

Abstract

In a widely cited 1995 paper, Aaron Yelowitz concluded that Medicaid eligibility expansions for children were associated with increased labor force participation and reduced welfare participation among single mothers. The authors of the present study, using data from the 1988–96 Current Population Surveys, re-examine the evidence presented by Yelowitz. They find that Yelowitz's results resulted from two factors: he imposed a restriction on the parameter estimates not predicted by theory and rejected in the data, and he used only one of two income tests that families must pass to be eligible for welfare. The authors conclude that there is no evidence detectable in the CPS data of a relationship between welfare or labor force participation and the Medicaid income limits.

Suggested Citation

  • John C. Ham & Lara D. Shore-Sheppard, 2005. "Did Expanding Medicaid Affect Welfare Participation?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(3), pages 452-470, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:58:y:2005:i:3:p:452-470
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390505800308
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    1. John C. Ham & Lara D. Shore-Sheppard, 2005. "Did Expanding Medicaid Affect Welfare Participation?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(3), pages 452-470, April.
    2. Bruce D. Meyer & Dan T. Rosenbaum, 2001. "Welfare, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Labor Supply of Single Mothers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(3), pages 1063-1114.
    3. Rebecca M. Blank, 1989. "The Effect of Medical Need and Medicaid on AFDC Participation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 24(1), pages 54-87.
    4. Moffitt, Robert & Wolfe, Barbara L, 1992. "The Effect of the Medicaid Program on Welfare Participation and Labor Supply," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 74(4), pages 615-626, November.
    5. Aaron S. Yelowitz, 1995. "The Medicaid Notch, Labor Supply, and Welfare Participation: Evidence from Eligibility Expansions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 909-939.
    6. David Card & Lara D. Shore-Sheppard, 2004. "Using Discontinuous Eligibility Rules to Identify the Effects of the Federal Medicaid Expansions on Low-Income Children," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(3), pages 752-766, August.
    7. John C. Ham & Lara D. Shore-Sheppard, 2001. "The Impact of Public Health Insurance on Labor Market Transitions," Department of Economics Working Papers 2001-02, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    8. 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.
    9. Anne E. Winkler, 1991. "The Incentive Effects of Medicaid on Women's Labor Supply," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 26(2), pages 308-337.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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