The Effect of Medicaid Coverage on Use of Health Services by Low Income Elderly People

This study examined the effect of Medicaid coverage on the use of health services among low-income elderly people in different racial, ethnic, and gender groups. Using a national representative sample of 1,542 low-income elderly people from the first wave of the Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old study, we estimated a two-part model for health services use. The results showed that Medicaid coverage was positively associated with the use of health services for low-income elderly people and that the association varied by race, ethnicity, and gender. The study concluded that the Medicaid program did not work equally well for low-income elderly people from different racial, ethnic, and gender groups.