Understanding the consequences of health insurance coverage is central to evaluating proposals to expand or modify health insurance coverage in the U.S. Yet there is remarkably little convincing evidence on the impact of insuring the uninsured on their medical utilization, health outcomes, health behaviors, or overall well-being, largely because enrolling in health insurance is a choice that is made jointly with other choices that determine these outcomes. A remarkable opportunity has presented itself for providing just such evidence. For a limited window in early 2008, Oregon opened a waiting list for enrollment in its previously closed public health insurance program for certain low income adults, and then randomly drew names from the list to determine who would be given the opportunity to enroll. This unique policy environment provides researchers with a rare occasion to bring the strengths of random assignment - the standard in medical trials - to address a critical social policy question. We have already begun surveying those selected and not selected in the lottery, and propose to use NIA funding to greatly extend the reach of our data collection and analysis, including over- sampling of the near-elderly (those aged 50-64) whose health risks are in many ways similar to those aged 65 and up and who will soon age onto Medicare themselves. We propose to capitalize on this extraordinary and unique opportunity to address questions in three different areas: First, how does insurance affect health care utilization? Second, what is the effect of insurance on health? Third, how do the effects of health insurance differ for different groups? We will answer these questions by drawing on three data sources: semi-annual mail surveys, an in-person data collection effort including measurement of physiological markers of health, and administrative records on hospital and emergency department use.

Public Health Relevance

Understanding the consequences of health insurance coverage is central to evaluating proposals to expand or modify health insurance coverage in the U.S. The proposed research will take advantage of a unique policy experiment underway in Oregon to evaluate the causal effects of health insurance on health care utilization and health outcomes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AG034151-04
Application #
8665850
Study Section
Social Sciences and Population Studies Study Section (SSPS)
Program Officer
Haaga, John G
Project Start
2010-06-01
Project End
2016-05-31
Budget Start
2014-06-01
Budget End
2015-05-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$1,476,236
Indirect Cost
$359,557
Name
National Bureau of Economic Research
Department
Type
DUNS #
054552435
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02138
Allen, Heidi; Wright, Bill; Broffman, Lauren (2018) The Impacts of Medicaid Expansion on Rural Low-Income Adults: Lessons From the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment. Med Care Res Rev 75:354-383
Baicker, Katherine; Allen, Heidi L; Wright, Bill J et al. (2018) The Effect of Medicaid on Management of Depression: Evidence From the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment. Milbank Q 96:29-56
Baicker, Katherine (2018) Driving Better Health Policy: ""It's the Evidence, Stupid"": Uwe Reinhardt Memorial Lecture. Health Serv Res 53:4055-4063
Einav, Liran; Finkelstein, Amy (2018) Moral Hazard in Health Insurance: What We Know and How We Know It. J Eur Econ Assoc 16:957-982
Zhou, Ruohua Annetta; Baicker, Katherine; Taubman, Sarah et al. (2017) The Uninsured Do Not Use The Emergency Department More-They Use Other Care Less. Health Aff (Millwood) 36:2115-2122
Baicker, Katherine; Allen, Heidi L; Wright, Bill J et al. (2017) The Effect Of Medicaid On Medication Use Among Poor Adults: Evidence From Oregon. Health Aff (Millwood) 36:2110-2114
Baicker, Katherine; Allen, Heidi L; Wright, Bill J et al. (2017) The Effect of Medicaid on Dental Care of Poor Adults: Evidence from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment. Health Serv Res :
Finkelstein, Amy N; Taubman, Sarah L; Allen, Heidi L et al. (2016) Effect of Medicaid Coverage on ED Use - Further Evidence from Oregon's Experiment. N Engl J Med 375:1505-1507
Baicker, Katherine; Finkelstein, Amy; Song, Jae et al. (2014) The Impact of Medicaid on Labor Market Activity and Program Participation: Evidence from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment. Am Econ Rev 104:322-328
Taubman, Sarah L; Allen, Heidi L; Wright, Bill J et al. (2014) Medicaid increases emergency-department use: evidence from Oregon's Health Insurance Experiment. Science 343:263-8

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