ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

Figure 4-14
Increase in Income and Payroll Taxes Paid Through Age 28 from an
Additional Year of Medicaid Eligibility in Childhood, 1996—2012
2011 U.S. Dollars
280
247
240
200
186
160
120
127
80
40
0
Men Women All
Note: Cumulative tax payments based on earnings through age 28.
Source: Brown, Kowalski, and Lurie (2015).
CHIP in childhood being more likely to complete high school and graduate
from college. These attainment impacts were similar regardless of the age at
which the child had Medicaid coverage.
New evidence from Miller and Wherry (2015) suggests that prenatal
Medicaid receipt can also have large long-term effects on health and economic
outcomes. Like some of the other studies discussed above, Miller and
Wherry also examine variation in Medicaid and CHIP eligibility rules across
States and over time, but focus on eligibility for pregnant women rather than
children. Children whose mothers gained Medicaid coverage while pregnant
had lower rates of obesity and fewer hospitalizations related to endocrine,
nutritional, metabolic diseases, and immunity disorders between the ages of
19 and 32. The effects for children whose mothers gained Medicaid between
birth and age 18 (as opposed to in utero) were generally insignificant,
suggesting that receipt in utero is particularly important for these health
outcomes. Health gains for children whose mothers received Medicaid
while pregnant were also accompanied by improvements in educational and
economic outcomes, including higher high school graduation rates, higher
income, and lower SNAP receipt.
The literature on desegregation of health care facilities also demonstrates
that access to health care during childhood can have large impacts
on children’s long-term outcomes. Almond, Chay, and Greenstone (2006)
Inequality in Early Childhood and Effective Public Policy Interventions | 183