Dual-Eligible Medicaid Spending: Are We on the Flat of the Curve?

CRR Working Paper No. 2008-16

30 Pages Posted: 17 Mar 2009 Last revised: 11 Jun 2009

See all articles by Melissa Ann Boyle

Melissa Ann Boyle

College of the Holy Cross

Joanna Lahey

Texas A&M University - George Bush School of Government and Public Service; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Margaret E. Czervionke

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: December 1, 2008

Abstract

For the U.S. Medicare population as a whole, previous studies show that additional medical spending at the margin is ineffective. For the elderly population overall, higher spending on health care does not appear to improve health outcomes or quality of life. The Medicaid literature, however, has shown benefits of increased spending on lower income populations such as single mothers. This suggests that there may be beneficial effects of spending on different segments of the Medicare population, particularly those most at risk - the low-income elderly. We use data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey to examine whether increased medical spending results in differential use of medical services and/or improved health outcomes for low-income elderly who are dually-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. We utilize state-level variation in Medicaid spending in a difference-in differences framework comparing the dual-eligible population to the near-eligible population just above the means test cutoff to investigate whether additional spending by Medicaid results in differences in health and service use for low-income elderly. Preliminary results suggest that additional spending leads to small increases in drug spending and no other significant increases in utilization or health improvements.

Suggested Citation

Boyle, Melissa Ann and Lahey, Joanna and Czervionke, Margaret E., Dual-Eligible Medicaid Spending: Are We on the Flat of the Curve? (December 1, 2008). CRR Working Paper No. 2008-16, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1360949 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1360949

Melissa Ann Boyle (Contact Author)

College of the Holy Cross ( email )

1 College Street
Worcester, MA 01610-2395
United States

Joanna Lahey

Texas A&M University - George Bush School of Government and Public Service ( email )

TAMU 4220
1004 George Bush Dr West
College Station, TX 77843
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Margaret E. Czervionke

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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