Early childhood exposure to Medicaid linked to better adult health

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/uom-ece112315.php

Public Release: 23-Nov-2015
Early childhood exposure to Medicaid linked to better adult health, UMD study shows
University of Maryland

Expanding publicly funded health insurance to low-income children could have long-term benefits for adult health, according to new research from the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Published in the Journal of Health Economics, the study found that exposure to Medicaid in early childhood, from conception through age 5, is associated with significant improvements in adult health (age 25 to 54). The research suggests that the improvement in health may be linked to greater access to and use of health services by children whose families received Medicaid, and a decreased economic burden on families from medical expenses and debt.

"There's growing recognition that what happens to you as a child is carried with you throughout life," said Dr. Michel H. Boudreaux, lead researcher and assistant professor in the Department of Health Services Administration at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. "Investing in young children could have important payoffs and our study suggests that the benefits of Medicaid may persist for decades into the future."

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Greater exposure to Medicaid during early childhood was associated with a significant and meaningful improvement in midlife health using a composite index that combines information on high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease/heart attack, and obesity. Low-income children's exposure to Medicaid throughout early childhood relative to no exposure is associated with a 22 percent decrease in the prevalence of high blood pressure among adults.

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Dr. Boudreaux points to two mechanisms that link early childhood Medicaid exposure to adult health outcomes: childhood health service use and family medical debt. Researchers found that Medicaid exposure increased hospital usage by low-income children four percent during early childhood and that Medicaid's introduction is associated with a decrease in medical debt in households that have children, freeing up resources that could be invested in kids in other ways.