Medicaid Expansion and the Unemployed

Thomas Buchmueller (), Helen Levy and Robert Valletta

No 26553, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We examine how a key provision of the Affordable Care Act--the expansion of Medicaid eligibility--affected health insurance coverage, access to care, and labor market transitions of unemployed workers. Comparing trends in states that implemented the Medicaid expansion to those that did not, we find that the ACA Medicaid expansion substantially increased insurance coverage and improved access to health care among unemployed workers. We then test whether this strengthening of the safety net affected transitions from unemployment to employment or out of the labor force. We find no meaningful statistical evidence in support of moral hazard effects that reduce job finding or labor force attachment.

JEL-codes: I13 I18 J18 J2 J6 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ias and nep-lab
Note: EH
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published as Thomas C. Buchmueller & Helen Levy & Robert G. Valletta, 2021. "Medicaid Expansion and the Unemployed," Journal of Labor Economics, vol 39(S2), pages S575-S617.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Medicaid Expansion and the Unemployed (2021)
Working Paper: Medicaid Expansion and the Unemployed (2019)
Working Paper: Medicaid Expansion and the Unemployed (2019)
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