Working Papers
"When Health Insurance Extends Beyond Health: Postpartum Medicaid and Household Spending" JMP (joint with Jessica Kiser)
Abstract:
Public health insurance can free up household resources by reducing medical expenses, yet its broader consumption effects remain understudied. We study how Medicaid coverage affects retention, household spending, and resource reallocation using coverage extensions from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which mandated continuous enrollment and effectively extended coverage for women enrolled in Medicaid during pregnancy. Using monthly product-level purchase records from the NielsenIQ Consumer Panel (2019–2020) and Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey (PRAMS) data linked to state-specific Medicaid income thresholds, we analyze how household spending responded to FFCRA among households with newborns. Difference-in-differences estimates show that Medicaid retention for newly eligible women increases by around 65 percent and that extended postpartum coverage roughly doubles spending on baby care products and increases total household expenditures by about 21 percent. The spending increase occurs after 60 days postpartum, consistent with the coverage extension relaxing household budget constraints. We find suggestive evidence that the spending response operates through reduced out-of-pocket medical costs rather than changes in labor supply.
"Public Long-term Care Insurance and Female Labor Force Participation: Evidence from China’s Pilot Program" Conditionally accepted at Journal of Public Economics
Abstract:
The global rise in aging populations has heightened the need for long-term care (LTC), presenting significant financial challenges for elderly households. In response to China’s rapidly aging population and the decline in traditional family-based care, the government launched a Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI) pilot program in 2016, expanding to cover 49 cities by 2020. Despite existing research on LTCI impacts, there has been limited exploration of its spillover effects on non-elderly populations. This study addresses this gap by examining how China’s LTCI pilot program affects the labor market outcomes of adult children of eligible elders. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and employing a staggered difference-in-differences design based on Callaway and Sant’Anna (2021), I find an 11-15 percent increase in employment probability for female adult children following the program’s launch, with especially robust effects among lower-educated and older women.
Work in Progress
"Do school-based health centers affect juvenile crime and delinquency?" (joint with Lindsey Bullinger, Analisa Packham)