An examination of the impact of health insurance enrollment in reducing racial health disparities

In Jung Song (), Inhyuck “Steve” Ha (), Won Fy Lee () and Minjung Choi ()
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In Jung Song: Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Inhyuck “Steve” Ha: Western Carolina University
Won Fy Lee: University of Minnesota
Minjung Choi: Ewha Womans University

Journal of Economics and Finance, 2024, vol. 48, issue 1, No 10, 196-213

Abstract: Abstract This paper investigates the effects of health insurance enrollment on health disparities among different racial groups in the United States. Two models were constructed and estimated empirically where a health insurance disparity model was nested in the health disparity model. The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method was used to measure potential racial discrimination in health status. The racial gap in health disparities was broken down by endowment and treatment effects. The results show that the health status gap can be explained by potential discrimination in health insurance enrollment between Blacks and Whites. Overall, health insurance enrollment plays a critical role in explaining racial disparities and a racial disparity in the healthcare industry explains a nontrivial portion of the differences in health status.

Keywords: Racial inequalities; Health disparity; Health insurance disparity; Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition; Equal treatment value; National health interview survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 J7 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s12197-023-09650-x

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