The Impact of the Affordable Care Act: Evidence from California's Hospital Sector
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 14,
no. 1, February 2022
(pp. 111-51)
Abstract
We exploit changes in the discontinuity in health insurance coverage at age 65 induced by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act to examine effects on coverage, hospital use, and patient health. We then link these changes to effects on hospital finances. We show that a substantial share of the federally funded Medicaid expansion substituted for existing locally funded safety net programs. Despite this offset, the expansion produced a substantial increase in hospital revenue, reflected in an equivalent increase in operating surplus. We do not detect improvements in patient mortality, although the expansion led to substantially greater hospital and emergency room use.Citation
Duggan, Mark, Atul Gupta, and Emilie Jackson. 2022. "The Impact of the Affordable Care Act: Evidence from California's Hospital Sector." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14 (1): 111-51. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20190279Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H51 National Government Expenditures and Health
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I12 Health Behavior
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
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