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The Effect of Health Insurance on Emergency Department Visits: Evidence from an Age-Based Eligibility Threshold

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  • Anderson, Michael L
  • Dobkin, Carlos
  • Gross, Tal

Abstract

Health insurance affects the rate at which individuals visit hospitals and emergency departments (EDs). We identify the causal effect of losing health insurance using a regression discontinuity design. We compare individuals just before and after their twenty third birthday, which insurers have used as a cutoff after which students are no longer eligible for their parents' health insurance: 1.5% of young adults lose their health insurance upon turning 23, and this transition leads to a 1.6% decrease in ED visits and a 0.8% decrease in hospital stays. We discuss why these estimates are larger than those observed among teenage populations. © 2014 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Anderson, Michael L & Dobkin, Carlos & Gross, Tal, 2014. "The Effect of Health Insurance on Emergency Department Visits: Evidence from an Age-Based Eligibility Threshold," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt9zf0x2k8, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt9zf0x2k8
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    Keywords

    Clinical Research; Behavioral and Social Science; Emergency Care; Pediatric; Basic Behavioral and Social Science; Health Services; Generic health relevance; Good Health and Well Being; Applied Economics; Econometrics; Economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies

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