The effects of Medicaid expansion on home production and childcare

Public health insurance programs like Medicaid provide in-kind resources that may improve health and reduce stress, altering time use patterns. Our study examines the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)-facilitated Medicaid expansions on time spent on home production and childcare. Using time-diary data, we estimated difference-in-differences models comparing the time use patterns of individuals in states that expanded Medicaid versus non-expansion states, before and after implementation. Medicaid expansion increased the amount of time low-income adults spent on home production by 12 min per day (p < .05), equivalent to a 9.5% increase. This was driven by increased time spent on food preparation and housework. Medicaid expansion also increased time spent on childcare among low-income parents by 6.6 min per day (p < .10) or 7.7%. Expanding public health insurance eligibility for low-income populations may increase time spent on home production and childcare, which are associated with significant health benefits for children and adults.

Automated summary

The study shows that expanding Medicaid can increase the time spent on home production for low-income adults and childcare for low-income parents. This increased time may have significant health benefits for both children and adults.