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Public insurance expansions and the health of immigrant and native children

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  • Bronchetti, Erin Todd

Abstract

The costs of public insurance expansions are ordinarily justified by the claim that increased eligibility causes gains in insurance coverage, which translate into improved health care and health. This paper studies dramatic changes in public health insurance eligibility for immigrant and native children from 1998 to 2009 and finds that children's nativity status is crucial to understanding the impacts of recent eligibility expansions. I document a significantly higher degree of take-up (and less crowding out of private insurance) among first- and second-generation immigrant children than among children of U.S. natives. Eligibility expansions increased immigrant children's use of preventive and ambulatory care and decreased emergency care in hospitals, while estimated effects for children of natives are negligible. My results also suggest improvements in some health measures that would be expected to respond to preventive and ambulatory care.

Suggested Citation

  • Bronchetti, Erin Todd, 2014. "Public insurance expansions and the health of immigrant and native children," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 205-219.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:120:y:2014:i:c:p:205-219
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.09.011
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    Cited by:

    1. James Marton & Angela Snyder & Mei Zhou, 2016. "Enhanced Citizenship Verification And Children'S Medicaid Coverage," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(3), pages 1670-1683, July.
    2. Cascio, Elizabeth U. & Lewis, Ethan G., 2019. "Distributing the Green (Cards): Permanent residency and personal income taxes after the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 135-150.
    3. Chloe N. East & Andrew I. Friedson, 2018. "An Apple a Day? Adult Food Stamp Eligibility and Health Care Utilization among Immigrants," Upjohn Working Papers 19-295, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    4. Catia Batista & Ana Beatriz Gomes, 2022. "Healthcare assimilation of immigrants," NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series wp2208, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA.
    5. Averett, Susan L. & Smith, Julie K. & Wang, Yang, 2019. "Minimum Wages and the Health and Access to Care of Immigrants' Children," IZA Discussion Papers 12606, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Aig Unuigbe, 2019. "Impact of medicaid policy changes on immigrant parents," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 395-417, December.
    7. Marcus Dillender, 2017. "English Skills and the Health Insurance Coverage of Immigrants," American Journal of Health Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(3), pages 312-345, Summer.
    8. repec:mrr:papers:wp341 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Noghanibehambari, Hamid, 2022. "Intergenerational health effects of Medicaid," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    10. Powell, David & Pacula, Rosalie Liccardo & Taylor, Erin, 2020. "How increasing medical access to opioids contributes to the opioid epidemic: Evidence from Medicare Part D," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    11. Mahmud, Mir, 2016. "Immigrant Children’s Access to Public Health Insurance after CHIPRA-2009," MPRA Paper 80602, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. East, Chloe N., 2018. "Immigrants’ labor supply response to Food Stamp access," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 202-226.
    13. Étienne Gaudette & Gwyn C. Pauley & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2016. "Long-term Individual and Population Consequences of Early-life Access to Health Insurance," Working Papers wp355, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    14. Cheolmin Kang & Akira Kawamura & Haruko Noguchi, 2019. "Does Free Healthcare Affect Children's Healthcare Use and Outcomes?," Working Papers 1914, Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
    15. Bae Jung, 2020. "Immigration Relief and Insurance Coverage: Evidence from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(3), pages 1-37, July.
    16. Brandyn Churchill, 2021. "E‐Verify mandates and unauthorized immigrants' health insurance coverage," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(2), pages 487-526, October.
    17. Catalina Amuedo‐Dorantes & Crystal Zhan, 2021. "The determinants of immigrant health insurance in the United States: Understanding the role of health care in origin societies," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1498-1516, June.

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