Welfare reform, labor supply, and health insurance in the immigrant population.
Although the 1996 welfare reform legislation limited the eligibility of immigrant households to receive assistance, many states chose to protect their immigrant populations by offering state-funded aid to these groups. I exploit these changes in eligibility rules to examine the link between the welfare cutbacks and health insurance coverage in the immigrant population. The data reveal that the cutbacks in the Medicaid program did not reduce health insurance coverage rates among targeted immigrants. The immigrants responded by increasing their labor supply, thereby raising the probability of being covered by employer-sponsored health insurance.
Borjas
George J
GJ
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. gborjas@harvard.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D004608:Eligibility Determination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D011632:Public Assistance / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011640:Public Policy; D012946:Social Welfare / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013221:State Health Plans / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States