Exploring the Effects of Medicaid During Childhood on the Economy and the Budget
Presentation
Presentation by Elizabeth Ash, William Carrington, Rebecca Heller, and Grace Hwang of CBO’s Labor, Income Security, and Long-Term Analysis and Health Analysis divisions to the Children’s Health Group, American Academy of Pediatrics.
This analysis examines the short-term and long-term fiscal effects of Medicaid spending on children.
In the short term, costs for Medicaid are paid upfront when the children (or their mothers) receive health care.
In the long term, Medicaid enrollment during childhood has been shown to increase earnings in adulthood. Those higher earnings imply greater tax revenues and lower transfer payments by the federal government in the future.
