IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/31971.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Accessing the Safety Net: How Medicaid Affects Health and Recidivism

Author

Listed:
  • Analisa Packham
  • David Slusky

Abstract

We estimate the causal impact of access to means-tested public health insurance coverage (Medicaid) on health outcomes and recidivism for those recently released from incarceration. To do so, we leverage a policy change in South Carolina that allowed simplified Medicaid enrollment for previously incarcerated eligible individuals. Using linked administrative data on criminal convictions and health insurance claims, we find that reducing barriers in access to Medicaid for vulnerable populations increases enrollment and utilization of some health care services. However, we do not find that this improved health care insurance access reduces 1-year or 3-year recidivism, suggesting that effectiveness of such policies is context dependent.

Suggested Citation

  • Analisa Packham & David Slusky, 2023. "Accessing the Safety Net: How Medicaid Affects Health and Recidivism," NBER Working Papers 31971, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31971
    Note: EH LE
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w31971.pdf
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html. Free access is also available to older working papers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jacob Vogler, 2020. "Access to Healthcare and Criminal Behavior: Evidence from the ACA Medicaid Expansions," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 1166-1213, September.
    2. Gultekin Gollu & Mariyana Zapryanova, 2022. "The effect of Medicaid on recidivism: Evidence from Medicaid suspension and termination policies," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(2), pages 326-372, October.
    3. Alberto Ortega, 2023. "Medicaid Expansion and mental health treatment: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 755-806, April.
    4. Wen, Hefei & Hockenberry, Jason M. & Cummings, Janet R., 2017. "The effect of Medicaid expansion on crime reduction: Evidence from HIFA-waiver expansions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 67-94.
    5. Rosen, D.L. & Dumont, D.M. & Cislo, A.M. & Brockmann, B.W. & Traver, A. & Rich, J.D., 2014. "Medicaid policies and practices in US State Prison Systems," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(3), pages 418-420.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Johanna Catherine Maclean & Justine Mallatt & Christopher J. Ruhm & Kosali Simon, 2022. "The Opioid Crisis, Health, Healthcare, and Crime: A Review of Quasi-Experimental Economic Studies," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 703(1), pages 15-49, September.
    2. Otsu, Yuki & Yuen, C.Y. Kelvin, 2022. "Health, crime, and the labor market: Theory and policy analysis," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    3. Gultekin Gollu & Mariyana Zapryanova, 2022. "The effect of Medicaid on recidivism: Evidence from Medicaid suspension and termination policies," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(2), pages 326-372, October.
    4. Erkmen G. Aslim & Murat C. Mungan & Han Yu, 2024. "A welfare analysis of Medicaid and recidivism," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(11), pages 2463-2507, November.
    5. Marguerite Burns & Laura Dague, 2023. "In-Kind Welfare Benefits and Reincarceration Risk: Evidence from Medicaid," NBER Working Papers 31394, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Monica Deza & Thanh Lu & Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2022. "Office‐based mental healthcare and juvenile arrests," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(S2), pages 69-91, October.
    7. Erkmen G. Aslim & Murat C. Mungan & Carlos I. Navarro & Han Yu, 2022. "The Effect of Public Health Insurance on Criminal Recidivism," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(1), pages 45-91, January.
    8. Wagner Kathryn L., 2021. "Public Health Insurance and Impacts on Crime Incidences and Mental Health," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 469-510, April.
    9. Hunnicutt, Patrick & Henderson, Geoffrey, 2023. "Particulates Matter: Policy Failures, Air Pollution, and Collective Political Participation in the United States," Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Working Paper Series qt51h8846s, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California.
    10. repec:ags:aaea22:335457 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Ashley C. Bradford & Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2024. "Evictions and psychiatric treatment," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 87-125, January.
    12. Hamersma, Sarah & Maclean, Johanna Catherine, 2021. "Do expansions in adolescent access to public insurance affect the decisions of substance use disorder treatment providers?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    13. Maclean, Johanna Catherine & Tello-Trillo, Sebastian & Webber, Douglas, 2023. "Losing insurance and psychiatric hospitalizations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 508-527.
    14. Pengju Zhang & Ling Zhu, 2021. "Does the ACA Medicaid Expansion Affect Hospitals’ Financial Performance?," Public Finance Review, , vol. 49(6), pages 779-814, November.
    15. Alberto Ortega, 2023. "Medicaid Expansion and mental health treatment: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 755-806, April.
    16. Lindsey Rose Bullinger, 2021. "Child Support and the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid Expansions," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 42-77, January.
    17. Liang, Jian & Alexeev, Sergey, 2023. "Harm reduction or amplification? The adverse impact of a supervised injection room on housing prices," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    18. Brady P. Horn & Aakrit Joshi & Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2019. "Substance Use Disorder Treatment Centers and Property Values," NBER Working Papers 25427, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Monica Deza & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Keisha T. Solomon, 2020. "Local Access to Mental Healthcare and Crime," NBER Working Papers 27619, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Keita, Sekou & Mandon, Pierre, 2018. "Give a fish or teach fishing? Partisan affiliation of U.S. governors and the poverty status of immigrants," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 65-96.
    21. Maclean, J. Catherine & Tello-Trillo, Sebastian & Webber, Douglas A., 2019. "Losing Insurance and Behavioral Health Hospitalizations: Evidence from a Large-Scale Medicaid Disenrollment," IZA Discussion Papers 12463, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31971. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.