ERIC Number: EJ1444318
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2377-8253
EISSN: EISSN-2377-8261
State Approaches to Simplify Medicaid Eligibility and Implications for Inequality of Infant Health
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, v9 n4 p32-60 2023
Along with the late 1980s Medicaid expansion for pregnant women and children, states implemented multiple reforms to reduce administrative burdens and facilitate access to Medicaid and prenatal care. We use National Vital Statistics birth data from 1985 to 1994 and a difference-in-discontinuities approach to compare the effectiveness of these reforms for improving infant health and access to prenatal care. Results indicate that combinations of reforms to reduce administrative burdens increased Medicaid enrollment and improved infant health nearly as much as Medicaid expansion. In most cases, these reforms yield larger benefits for racially and socioeconomically marginalized mothers, but targeted reforms could better address unequal barriers and further improve equality. Benefits of the reforms are larger in states with more physicians per capita, particularly for marginalized mothers. Overall, results suggest that combined policy responses to reduce multiple burdens at the same time are needed to address unequal barriers.
Descriptors: Health Services, Infants, State Action, Access to Health Care, Child Health, Health Insurance, Social Action, Minority Groups, Prenatal Care, Legislation, Barriers, Parent Background, Racial Factors, Ethnicity, Educational Attainment
Russell Sage Foundation. 112 East 64th Street, New York, NY 10065. Tel: 212-750-6000; e-mail: journal@rsage.org; Web site: www.rsfjournal.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A