AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Elasticity of Medicaid Access with Respect to State Financial Distress
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 108,
May 2018
(pp. 384–87)
Abstract
In 2016, total Medicaid spending, $574.2 billion, represented one-third of state budgets. Descriptive studies indicate that state policymakers adjust social welfare programs during times of financial distress, particularly Medicaid. The challenge of formally estimating this effect is that macroeconomic shocks increase Medicaid enrollment and state-level financial stress. We use an exogenous measure of Medicaid generosity to estimate the elasticity of Medicaid generosity with respect to financial conditions. We find Medicaid generosity is not adjusted during periods of fiscal distress, whether anticipated or not. Instead, we find a counter-cyclical Medicaid effect with generosity increasing with increases in the unemployment rate.Citation
Perez, Victoria, Joseph Benitez, and Eric Seiber. 2018. "Elasticity of Medicaid Access with Respect to State Financial Distress." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 108: 384–87. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20181107Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs