Do Medicaid physician fees for prenatal services affect birth outcomes?

B Gray1

  • 1Department of Health Policy and Administration, Institute of Government and Public Affairs, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60657-3525, USA. bgray@uic.edu

This study exploits a natural experiment to examine the relationship between Medicaid physician fees and birth outcomes among a national sample of pregnant women. Applying a cohort difference-in-differences methodology, I find a significant negative association between these fees and the risk of low birth weight. I estimate that a 10% higher than average relative Medicaid fee is independently associated with a 0.074% lower absolute risk of low birth weight (<2.5 kg) and a 0.035% lower risk of very low birth weight (<1.5kg) among Medicaid-insured women. For low-income women, this association grows significantly. Lastly, I find a moderate association between these fees and use of first trimester prenatal services.

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