Sarah Hamersma

The effects of medicaid earnings limits on earnings growth among poor workers

Abstract Strict earnings limits for public health insurance eligibility may distort work incentives for low-earning workers. Since 1996, states may vary their parental Medicaid eligibility criteria independently of other assistance programs. The result is substantial variation across states and over time in the earnings thresholds to which workers must adhere to maintain eligibility. Utilizing this variation, I identify the effects of Medicaid earnings thresholds on labor force behavior of low-income single mothers, examining both static and dynamic patterns. I find some evidence that allocating government funds to increasing these thresholds could be used as a policy lever to help drive increased earnings among low-income women.

Temporary Help Work: Earnings, Wages, and Multiple Job Holding

Temporary help services (THS) employment has been growing in size, particularly among disadvantaged workers. An extended policy debate focuses on the low earnings, limited benefits, and insecurity that such jobs appear to provide. We investigate the earnings and wage differentials observed between THS and other jobs in a sample of disadvantaged workers. We find lower quarterly earnings at THS jobs but a

Wearing Out Your Welcome: Examining Differential Medicaid Eligibility of New Entrants and Continuing Recipients

1 per hour wage premium. We reconcile these findings in terms of the shorter duration and lower hours worked at THS jobs. We interpret the premium as a compensating wage differential.

THE EFFECT OF PARENTAL MEDICAID EXPANSIONS ON CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE: PARENTAL MEDICAID & CHILD INSURANCE

Until recently, states were permitted to have different “new entrant” and “continuing recipient” income limits for parental Medicaid eligibility by implementing income disregards that changed with spell length. Some states utilized this option—either tightening income limits for the same family over time or loosening them. In this article, we construct a theoretical model of utility-maximizing workers facing different time-dependent eligibility thresholds to predict the Medicaid participation and employment behavior of workers with varying wage levels. The model reveals some inter-temporally perverse incentives created by linking eligibility thresholds to Medicaid duration. Then, we empirically test these predictions using the Survey of Income and Program Participation and a unique compilation of state-by-family size Medicaid thresholds for both new and continuing recipients. We find that patterns of Medicaid participation and spell duration are consistent with the predictions of our model. There is also evidence that the individuals predicted by our model to lower their work hours may supply fewer hours of labor. As of January 2014, the Affordable Care Act disallows time-varying income disregards; our findings suggest that states previously using this strategy will experience an adjustment in Medicaid caseloads and possibly labor market outcomes because of the change. (JEL H4, I1, J2)

AFDC and births to unwed women

Research on public health insurance expansions has typically focused on those targeted by the expansions; we estimate the spillover effects of parental Medicaid expansions on the insurance coverage of their children. Expanding parental Medicaid eligibility may increase participation by already‐eligible, uninsured children by increasing the value of Medicaid enrollment for the entire family. However, parental expansions may also generate crowd out from private coverage. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation during a period of major parental Medicaid expansions, we find substantial effects of the expansions on the Medicaid participation of children, with evidence of crowd out among some subsamples. (JEL H51, I13, I38)

Does prenatal WIC participation improve birth outcomes? New evidence from Florida

Abstract Most studies by economists have been inconclusive when seeking a consistent relationship between income-support programs [like aid to families with dependent children (AFDC)] and births to unwed women (or, as the literature traditionally terms it, illegitimacy). But a recent study [Southern Econ. J. 62 (1995) 44] reports a large, positive and statistically significant relationship when data are weighted to reflect differences in propensities toward illegitimacy. We find that the 1995 study appears to rely upon erroneous data and irregular econometric technique. When these are remedied, the major results are reversed. We then suggest that a switching regimes methodology, with parameters influenced by other variables, is more appropriate to the issue. Our empirical results confirm the literatures consensus that AFDC and illegitimacy do not appear to be strongly related.