View Research by Author - Bethany Kessler

Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/BethanyKessler

Using the state as the unit of analysis, this study gauges the effects of various state policy interventions on rates of uninsurance, private coverage, and Medicaid coverage for the nonelderly population. The study controls for economic structures, population demographics, and characteristics of the health-service market. Then, using Wisconsin counties as units of analysis within a common regulatory environment, the relative importance of economic and demographic characteristics of the health-service market are tested to see if any of these factors can explain overall rates of health insurance coverage.

Under welfare reform law, with certain exceptions, noncitizen immigrants who arrived in the United States after August 1996 were barred from Medicaid benefits, although they may still be covered for emergency services. Assessing the effects of this change has been problematic, because few data are available on the number and costs of immigrants on Medicaid. Analyses for this report were based on the Medicaid Quality Control database. The report provides national and state-by-state estimates of the number and cost of noncitizen Medicaid beneficiaries.

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