Spillover Effects of the Affordable Care Act? Exploring the Impact on Young Adult Dental Insurance Coverage

Objectives To assess whether the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) dependent coverage health insurance mandate had a spillover impact on young adult dental insurance coverage and whether any observed effects varied by household income. Data Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys from 2006 through 2011. St...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health services research 2015-08, Vol.50 (4), p.1109-1124
Main Authors: Shane, Dan M., Ayyagari, Padmaja
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affordable Care Act
Age Factors
Analysis
Dental insurance
dependent coverage mandate
Economic impact
Employee benefits
Family income
Female
Health economics
Health insurance
Health Policy
Humans
Insurance
Insurance coverage
Insurance Coverage - economics
Insurance Coverage - statistics & numerical data
Insurance rates
Insurance, Dental - economics
Insurance, Dental - statistics & numerical data
Insurance, Health - economics
Insurance, Health - statistics & numerical data
Laws, regulations and rules
Male
Models, Econometric
Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act 2010-US
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - legislation & jurisprudence
Poverty
Residence Characteristics
Socioeconomic Factors
Studies
Teenagers
Young Adult
Young adults
Youth
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Summary:Objectives To assess whether the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) dependent coverage health insurance mandate had a spillover impact on young adult dental insurance coverage and whether any observed effects varied by household income. Data Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys from 2006 through 2011. Study Design We employed a difference‐in‐difference regression approach comparing changes in insurance rates for young adults ages 19–25 years to changes in insurance rates for adults ages 27–30 years. Separate regressions were estimated by categories of household income as a percentage of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to understand whether the mandate had heterogeneous spillover effects. Results Private dental insurance increased by 6.7 percentage points among young adults compared to a control group of 27–30‐year olds. Increases were concentrated at middle‐income levels (125–400 percent FPL). Conclusions The dependent coverage mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act has not only increased health insurance rates among young adults but also dental insurance coverage rates.
ISSN:0017-9124
1475-6773
DOI:10.1111/1475-6773.12266