| This dissertation is comprised of two essays examining expansions in eligibility for public health insurance in the U.S. In the first essay, I focus on expanded eligibility for family planning services under Medicaid and the impact on fertility and the utilization of women's preventive care. In the second essay, which is joint work with Bruce D. Meyer, we examine the immediate and longer-term mortality effects of Medicaid eligibility expansions for children. Both of these papers use variation in public health insurance eligibility created by changes in federal or state eligibility rules to identify a causal relationship between public coverage and health-related outcomes. |
