Targeting with In-kind Transfers: Evidence from Medicaid Home Care

Ethan Lieber and Lee Lockwood

No 24267, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Making a transfer in kind reduces its value to recipients but can improve targeting. We develop an approach to quantifying this tradeoff and apply it to home care. Using randomized experiments by Medicaid, we find that in-kind provision significantly reduces the value of the transfer to recipients while targeting a small fraction of the eligible population that is sicker and has fewer informal caregivers than the average eligible. Under a wide range of assumptions within a standard model, the targeting benefit exceeds the distortion cost. This highlights an important cost of recent reforms toward more flexible benefits.

JEL-codes: H21 H51 I13 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-pbe
Note: AG EH PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published as Ethan M. J. Lieber & Lee M. Lockwood, 2019. "Targeting with In-Kind Transfers: Evidence from Medicaid Home Care," American Economic Review, vol 109(4), pages 1461-1485.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Targeting with In-Kind Transfers: Evidence from Medicaid Home Care (2019)
Working Paper: Targeting with In-kind Transfers: Evidence from Medicaid Home Care (2017)
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