Research

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Altman, C. E., Spence, C., Hamilton, C., & Bachmeier, J. D. (2020). Health insurance coverage: Logical versus survey identification of the foreign-born. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 1-9.

Spence, C., Bachmeier, J. D., Altman, C. E. & Hamilton, C. (forthcoming). The association betweenlegal status and poverty among immigrants: A methodological caution. Demography

Dache-Gerbino, A., Aguayo D., Griffin, M., Hairston, S. L., Hamilton, C., Krause, C., Lane-Bonds, D., & Sweeney H. (2018). (Re)Imagined geographies: A critical geography and urban higher education class explores postcolonial spaces Post-Ferguson. Research in Education, 003452371876006

Under Review

Legal Status and Health Disparities: An Examination of Insurance Coverage Among the Foreign-Born (with Claire Altman, James Bachmeier and Cody Spence)

Abstract: This paper employs a ‘statistical matching’ procedure to impute the legal status of immigrant adults in US Census surveys in order to estimate migrant status disparities in health insurance coverage. Using data from the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation, we impute the legal/citizenship status of immigrants in the 2007–2009 National Health Interview Surveys. Results from the pooled data document disparities in health insurance coverage among four citizen/legal status groups: naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, legal nonimmigrants, and unauthorized immigrants. Naturalized citizens had the highest rate of health insurance coverage, followed by legal immigrants, legal nonimmigrants, and unauthorized immigrants. This timely policy-relevant project provides pre-ACA estimates of health insurance coverage rates among the foreign-born that are crucial for evaluating the impact of the Affordable Care Act on reducing disparities in health coverage among immigrant groups.

Works in Progress

The Impact of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion on Young Adults’ Health, Health Care Access and Financial Well-Being

Abstract: While a few studies have highlighted the ACA Medicaid eligibility expansion improved insurance coverage and health care access for young adults, no research to date has specifically examined the impact this policy change has had on the health status and non-health outcomes of low-income young adults. In this study, I evaluate the effect of the ACA Medicaid expansion on the health insurance coverage, health, health care access and utilization, and financial well-being of low-income young adults aged 19-25. Using data from the 2010-2017 National Health Interview Survey, I estimate difference-in-differences models comparing outcomes between low-income childless young adults in expansion and non-expansion states, before and after the policy change. In addition to the main analyses, I estimate models separately to determine if expanding Medicaid eligibility had differing effects for gender and racial groups among the low-income young adult population.

The Effect of Charter Schools Expansion on College Readiness and Postsecondary Intentions

Abstract: The growth in the number of charter schools in the United States and their promotion as alternatives to the traditional public-school system necessitates an understanding of the impact these schools have on student outcomes. While numerous studies have examined the effect of charter schools on tests scores, there is limited research on the impact of charter schools and charter expansion on educational attainment. In this study, I utilize the change in charter school legislation, which removed the cap on the number of charter schools that can operate in North Carolina. Leveraging this policy change, a differences-in-differences approach is employed to identify the impact of charter school expansion on average district ACT scores and college intention. I find that expanding charter schools has small, but insignificant impacts on district outcomes.

Health Coverage among the Foreign-born Post ACA: Disparities by Migration Status (with Claire Altman, James Bachmeier, and Cody Spence)

Abstract: While studies have shown the ACA Medicaid eligibility expansion improved health insurance coverage and access to health care for some immigrant groups, no research to date has evaluated how this policy change has impacted disparities in health insurance coverage by legal/citizenship status. This study fills the gap in the research by evaluating changes in health insurance coverage disparities by legal/citizen status among the foreign-born population after the ACA Medicaid expansion. Using data from the 2008 and 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)—the only nationally representative dataset with information on immigrant legal status—we impute the legal/citizen status of immigrants in the 2008 and 2014 American Community Survey (ACS). We then employ a difference-in-differences model to identify differences in health insurance coverage before and after the Medicaid eligibility expansion policy among naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, legal nonimmigrants, and unauthorized immigrants. We anticipate that disparities in coverage among migrant groups would have exacerbated after the ACA’s Medicaid expansion. This study will be the first to provide national estimates of the effect of the ACA’s Medicaid on insurance coverage by legal/citizenship status.