This study analyzes the effects of losing public health insurance by examining Tennessee’s 2005 TennCare disenrollment, which removed coverage for 190,000 mostly non-elderly, childless adults. Using a difference-in-differences approach with national survey data, the paper finds that losing coverage led to a 4–5% drop in preventive care use (like mammograms and breast exams) and a 20% increase in days of reported health-related incapacitation. There was no strong evidence of changes in emergency department use.
See also: Medicaid Cuts Will Likely Result in Poor Health Outcomes
