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.