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Cited by 57Reproductive Health and ContraceptionHealthcare Policy and ManagementGender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

The effect of Medicaid eligibility expansions on fertility

Zavodny, Madeline, Bitler, Marianne P.·2010·Social Science & Medicine
DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.05.046
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Abstract

In the United States, pregnant women and children's eligibility for Medicaid was expanded dramatically during the 1980s and early 1990s. By lowering pregnancy and child health care costs, the Medicaid expansions may have increased the incentives for women to have children. To investigate this possibility, we examine whether state-level birth and abortion rates are related to the extent of states' Medicaid eligibility expansions and the fraction of women eligible for Medicaid, controlling for economic and demographic factors, during the period 1982 to 1996. We examine birth rates by race, marital status and education as well as overall abortion rates. We find little evidence that the Medicaid expansions led to changes in birth rates or abortion rates. However, some results do suggest that the Medicaid expansions boosted the birth rate among white women who have not completed high school. We find that restrictions on Medicaid funding of abortions decrease abortion rates and increase birth rates. The results thus do not provide definitive evidence that expansions in public health insurance eligibility have sizable effects on women's fertility.

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Authors
Zavodny, M., & Bitler, M. P.
Affiliations
National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
ORCID
Bitler, Marianne P.
Venue
Social Science & Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2010-09
Volume
71
Issue
5
Pages
918-924
ISSN
0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.05.046
OpenAlex
W2160322712
Cited by
57
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
FWCI
3.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Healthcare Policy and Management
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
Keywords
Medicaid expansion, fertility, birth rate, abortion rates, public health insurance, marital status, educational attainment, state health policy
MeSH terms
Abortion, Induced, Adolescent, Adult, Birth Rate, Black or African American, Eligibility Determination, Female, Fertility, Humans, Medicaid, Pregnancy, State Government, United States, Health Care Costs, Black People, White People, Young Adult

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