American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
How Do Providers Respond to Changes in Public Health Insurance Coverage? Evidence from Adult Medicaid Dental Benefits
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 8,
no. 4, November 2016
(pp. 70–102)
Abstract
This study evaluates how large changes in public health insurance coverage affect provider behavior and patient wait times by analyzing a common type of primary care: dental services. When states expand coverage of dental services to adult Medicaid beneficiaries, dentists' participation in Medicaid increases and dentists see more publicly insured patients. Dentists supply more visits but only modestly increase the amount of time spent working. They achieve this in part by making greater use of dental hygienists. Wait times increase modestly, with the largest increases in wait times observed in states with restrictive scope of practice laws governing dental hygienists.Citation
Buchmueller, Thomas, Sarah Miller, and Marko Vujicic. 2016. "How Do Providers Respond to Changes in Public Health Insurance Coverage? Evidence from Adult Medicaid Dental Benefits." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 8 (4): 70–102. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20150004Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- G22 Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
- I11 Analysis of Health Care Markets
- 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
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- J44 Professional Labor Markets; Occupational Licensing
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