Document Type
Honors Project - Open Access
Abstract
I examine the impact of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion on maternal and fetal health outcomes using National Center for Health Statistics Natality data from 2006 to 2023. I exploit staggered state adoption as a quasi-experiment, and the staggered differences-in-differences estimates indicate an increase in the share of Medicaid births but broadly no impact on maternal prenatal care, maternal health, and fetal health. The absence of statistically significant effects is consistent across heterogeneity groups. These null findings indicate that expanded insurance access through the Affordable Care Act may be insufficient to improve health outcomes. I do find a statistically significant increase in High Weight Gain after expansion, which could indicate some moral hazard behavior related to insurance access.
Recommended Citation
Lengfelder, Bailey R., "From Coverage to Care: Evaluating the Effects of ACA Medicaid Expansion on Birth Outcomes" (2026). Economics Honors Projects. 136.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/economics_honors_projects/136
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Economic Policy Commons, Economics Commons, Health Policy Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Women's Health Commons
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