Out of the Woodwork: Enrollment Spillovers in the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment

Adam Sacarny, Katherine Baicker and Amy Finkelstein

No 26871, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We analyze the impact of expanded adult Medicaid eligibility on the Medicaid enrollment of already-eligible children. To do so, we exploit the 2008 Oregon Medicaid lottery, in which some low-income uninsured adults were randomly selected for the chance to apply for Medicaid. Children in these households were eligible for Medicaid irrespective of whether the household won the lottery. We estimate statistically significant but transitory impacts of adult lottery selection on children’s Medicaid enrollment: for every 9 adults who enroll in Medicaid due to the lottery, one additional child also enrolls at the same time. Our results shed light on the existence, magnitude, and nature of so-called “woodwork effects”.

JEL-codes: H53 I13 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-ias
Note: CH EH PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published as Adam Sacarny & Katherine Baicker & Amy Finkelstein, 2022. "Out of the Woodwork: Enrollment Spillovers in the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, vol 14(3), pages 273-295.

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Journal Article: Out of the Woodwork: Enrollment Spillovers in the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment (2022)
Working Paper: Out of the Woodwork: Enrollment Spillovers in the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment (2020)
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