The Long-Term Effects of Early Life Medicaid Coverage
- Sarah Miller is an assistant professor of business economics and public policy at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Laura R. Wherry is an assistant professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Abstract
In this study, we evaluate how an expansion of Medicaid coverage for pregnant women and infants affected the adult outcomes of individuals who gained access to coverage in utero and during the first year of life. We find that cohorts whose mothers gained eligibility for prenatal coverage under Medicaid have lower rates of chronic conditions as adults and fewer hospitalizations related to diabetes and obesity. We also find that the expansions increased high school graduation rates. Our results indicate that expanding Medicaid prenatal coverage had long-term benefits for the next generation.
- Received August 2016.
- Accepted January 2018.
- © 2019 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
