COLLEGE PARK, Md., Nov. 23 (UPI) — Greater access to healthcare because of Medicaid enrollment in childhood was linked to a significant improvement in health at midlife in a new study.
In addition to health benefits, researchers said the economic impact of Medicaid on family finances benefits children because of less debt for parents and the ability to invest money in other areas of children’s lives.
Medicaid now provides health coverage to 35 percent of children under age 19 and accounts for 8 percent of all federal spending. The program has expanded significantly since its introduction in the 1960s, including expansion in the last few years in many states because of the Affordable Care Act.
Previous research has shown public health programs for low-income children have short-term benefits for their health. Researchers said this is the first study to show a long-term benefit associated with greater access to healthcare in childhood.
“There’s growing recognition that what happens to you as a child is carried with you throughout life,” said Dr. Michel Boudreaux, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland, in a press release. “Investing in young children could have important payoffs and our study suggests that the benefits of Medicaid may persist for decades into the future.”
Researchers used data collected by the Panel Study of Income Dynamics on Medicaid recipients going back to the program’s initial staggered roll-out. They compared large groups of people who had no Medicaid coverage in early childhood, those who had some coverage, and children who were covered by Medicaid from conception through age five.
Using a composite index based on high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, the researchers found children who were covered by Medicaid had better health during the midlife ages of 25 to 54. Low-income children who were on Medicaid, as opposed to those who were not, were 22 percent less likely to have high blood pressure as adults.
While the study did not show a significant association between Medicaid in childhood and adult economic status, it did show that having health coverage through Medicaid increased hospital use among low-income children by 4 percent, reinforcing an already known decrease in medical debt for low-income families.
The study is published in the Journal of Health Economics.
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