Abstract
This paper examines the impacts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – which substantially increased insurance coverage through regulations, mandates, subsidies, and Medicaid expansions – on behaviors related to future health risks after three years. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and an identification strategy that leverages variation in pre-ACA uninsured rates and state Medicaid expansion decisions, we show that the ACA increased preventive care utilization along several dimensions, but also increased risky drinking. These results are driven by the private portions of the law, as opposed to the Medicaid expansion. We also conduct subsample analyses by income and age.
Document Type
Research Paper
Publication Date
4-2018
Working Paper Number
Working Paper 11
Repository Citation
Courtemanche, Charles J.; Marton, James; Ukert, Benjamin; Yelowitz, Aaron; and Zapata, Daniela, "Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Health Behaviors after Three Years" (2018). Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Working Papers. 18.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/isfe_papers/18
Notes/Citation Information
JEL Codes: I12, I13, I18