By Noah Zwiefel, Macalester College

This paper explores the relationship between the ACA Medicaid Expansion and the bankruptcy rate in states that did and did not expand their Medicaid programs.  In general, past research has found that the Medicaid expansions of the 1990s are associated with a decrease in bankruptcy rates, but as of yet, there has been little formal research into changes in the bankruptcy rate as a result of the 2014 Medicaid expansion.  Utilizing a difference-in-differences analysis, I find that the bankruptcy rate fell more in states that did expand than those that did not expand in the post-expansion timeframe, lending evidence to the 2014 ACA Medicaid expansion having decreased the bankruptcy rate.

Read the full paper here.