Do Medicaid physician fees for prenatal services affect birth outcomes?
This study exploits a natural experiment to examine the relationship between Medicaid physician fees and birth outcomes among a national sample of pregnant women. Applying a cohort difference-in-differences methodology, I find a significant negative association between these fees and the risk of low birth weight. I estimate that a 10% higher than average relative Medicaid fee is independently associated with a 0.074% lower absolute risk of low birth weight (<2.5 kg) and a 0.035% lower risk of very low birth weight (<1.5kg) among Medicaid-insured women. For low-income women, this association grows significantly. Lastly, I find a moderate association between these fees and use of first trimester prenatal services.
Gray
B
B
Department of Health Policy and Administration, Institute of Government and Public Affairs, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60657-3525, USA. bgray@uic.edu
D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D005251:Fees, Medical; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics*; D010820:Physicians / Q000191:economics*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000191:economics*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States