Medicaid reimbursement, prenatal care and infant health.
This paper evaluates the impact of state-level Medicaid reimbursement rates for obstetric care on prenatal care utilization across demographic groups. It also uses these rates as an instrumental variable to assess the importance of prenatal care on birth weight. The analysis is conducted using a unique dataset of Medicaid reimbursement rates and 2001-2010 Vital Statistics Natality data. Conditional on county fixed effects, the study finds a modest, but statistically significant positive relationship between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the number of prenatal visits obtained by pregnant women. Additionally, higher rates are associated with an increase in the probability of obtaining adequate care, as well as a reduction in the incidence of going without any prenatal care. However, the effect of an additional prenatal visit on birth weight is virtually zero for black disadvantaged mothers, while an additional visit yields a substantial increase in birth weight of over 20 g for white disadvantaged mothers.
SUNY Oswego, Department of Economics, 425 Mahar Hall, Oswego, NY 13126, United States. Electronic address: lyudmyla.sonchak@oswego.edu.
Lyudmyla
L
Sonchak
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001724:Birth Weight; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000068104:Infant Health / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007342:Insurance Benefits / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008423:Maternal Age; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014798:Vital Statistics; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
Infant health; Medicaid reimbursement; Prenatal care