Effects of losing public health insurance on preventative care, health, and emergency department use: Evidence from the TennCare disenrollment

Daniel Sebastian Tello‐Trillo
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Daniel Sebastian Tello-Trillo

Southern Economic Journal, 2021, vol. 88, issue 1, 322-366

Abstract: This paper studies the effect of losing public health insurance eligibility on preventative care, self‐reported health, and emergency department use. I exploit the 2005 TennCare disenrollment in which 190,000 residents–mainly non‐elderly childless adults–lost public health insurance eligibility due to budget cuts. I use two surveys, the Behavioral Factor Surveillance System and the National Health Interview Survey, in a difference‐in‐difference methodology to study the effects of the reform. I find that the reform lead to a 4%–5% reduction in reporting having mammograms and breast exams. An increase of 20% in number of days with health incapacitation and no strong evidence of changes of emergency department visits (nor number of visits). I document margins of heterogeneity of the effects across demographic characteristics. Finally, I explore the margins of symmetry between gaining and losing public insurance by comparing estimates to those from the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansions.

Date: 2021
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https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12504

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:soecon:v:88:y:2021:i:1:p:322-366

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