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Policy Research
How has the ACA Medicaid Expansion Affected Providers Serving the Homeless Population: Analysis of Coverage, Revenues, and Costs
Matt Warfield, Barbara DiPietrio, Samantha Artiga
March 2016
States that expanded Medicaid coverage experienced larger gains in insurance coverage for patients that use services provided at Health Care for Homeless (HCH) projects. In expansion states, HCH projects experienced higher revenues and lower costs. Non-expansion states only saw a 4% increase in coverage among those suffering from homelessness. HCH projects had higher costs and lower revenues as a result of less of their patients receiving coverage.
How Are Moms Faring under the Affordable Care Act? Evidence through 2014
Michael Karpman, Jason Gates, Genevieve M. Kenny, Stacey McMorrow
May 2016
This article provides data from the National Health Interview Survey from 1997-2014 to examine trends in uninsurance among mothers. It compares changes in uninsurance rates among mothers living in states where Medicaid expanded coverage, to mothers in states that did not expand coverage. It also examines the changes in the rate of uninsured mothers between 2013 and 2014 – the years before and after key coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act were implemented. Last, the composition of uninsured mothers was analyzed, including the rates of uninsurance among mothers in subgroups divided by education level, income level, race/ethnicity, citizenship, and self-reported general health status.
Preenting Youth Violence and Dropout: A Randomized Field Experiment
Sarah Heller, Harold A. Pollack, Roseanna Ander, Jens Ludwig
May 2013
This paper reports on results of a randomized controlled trial of an intervention for disadvantaged males in 7th-10th grade in high crime neighborhoods in Chicago. Two non-profits worked together to deliver regular interactions with a social worker, after school programs, and cognitive behavioral therapy to a random sample of these disadvantaged males. Participating in the program led to a 44% reduction in arrest for violent crime in the sample group. Participation also led to long term, statistically significant gains in education outcomes, including grades and test scores.
State Mental Health Policy: Physical Health Screening in State Mental Health Clinics: The New York Health Indicators Initiative
Christina Mangurian, MD, Gregory A Miller, MD, Carlos T Jackson, PhD, Hailing Li, Susan M Essock, PhD
September 2016
The article focuses on a mandate from the New York State Office of Mental Health, to regularly monitor three physical health indicators – blood pressure, smoking status, and body mass index. A recent study finds that adults with serious mental illnesses are dying 25 years younger than the rest of the population. New medical equipment and digital databases were implemented along with training on these changes for faculty. According to the study, approximately 50% of New York’s outpatient mental health patients have been screened.
Political Affiliation Affects Adaptation to Climate Risks: Evidence from New York City
W.J. Wouter Botzen, Erwann Michel-Kerjan, Howard Kunreuther, Hans de Moel, Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts
September 2016
The authors focus on political affiliation and how it affects flood risk protection, expectations of federal aid, and actions taken to adapt to such events. They provide empirical data on how views on climate change differ depending on political affiliation. Upon surveying over 1,000 residents of New York City (NYC) after Superstorm Sandy, the authors discovered a difference in opinion as it pertains to climate change and the threat of coastal flooding. Republicans’ perception of the threat of flooding was far below that of Democrats. Their research shows that Democrats were more likely to purchase flood insurance and are more likely to expect federal aid in the event of flooding. The study also shows that Democrats believed there was more than a1-in-100 chance of flooding compared to Republicans view that there was only a 1-in-100 chance of flooding. When asked about the future risk of flooding 71% Democrats believed that the risk of flooding would go up as a result of climate change compared to only 47% of Republicans. The authors also studied the percentage of residents in NYC that purchased flood insurance after Superstorm Sandy, and found that a greater number of Democrats purchased flood insurance compared to Republicans, confirming that political affiliation does indeed influence the perception of flood risks.
Crop Yield Changes Induced by Emissions of Individual Climate-Altering Pollutants
Drew T. Shindell
August 2016
Climate change and pollution has proven to be detrimental to agricultural production. This study focuses on the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane on crop yields. Although increased CO2 has created a greening effect on crops it has reduced crop yields by trapping heat that raises global temperatures. Methane, unlike CO2, does not fertilize crops. Instead it traps heat and makes it more difficult for crops to obtain key nutrients. The study shows that to combat decreases in crop yields it is more advantageous to combat methane pollution over CO2.
Climate Consequences of Low-Carbon Fuels: The United States Renewable Fuel Standard
Jason Hill, Liaila Tajibaeva, Stephen Polasky
July 2016
A study focusing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s new fuel standards as it pertains to biofuels and their capability of reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs). The study focuses on how low-carbon fuels such as biofuels only partially displace petroleum via the fuel market rebound effect. The fuel market rebound effect refers to the increase in consumption caused by an increase in fuel supplies that drives down costs. As the study shows the increase in biofuels into the energy mix will lead to the increase in GHGs due to low carbon displacement properties of the fuel. Fossil fuel displacement and the reduction of GHGs will only be effective when biofuels can displace enough fossil fuels to offset their carbon footprint.
The Abandoned Ice Sheet Base at Camp Century, Greenland, in a Warming Climate
William Colgan, Horst Machguth, Mike MacFerrin, Jeff D. Colgan, Dirk van As, Joseph A. MacGregor
August 2016
As the Cold War began and the threat of nuclear attack became ever more real, the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark agreed that Greenland would host three American airbases to counter the nuclear threat from the Soviet Union. Along with these airbases came a plan to create a ballistic missile base beneath Greenland’s ice sheets. Powered by a portable nuclear generator Camp Century was built to host up to 200 soldiers, provide year round accommodation, and upon expansion would be capable of storing up to 600 ballistic missiles. The plans for the base were short lived. Built in 1959 Camp Century was abandoned in 1967 after 8 short years. When the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) abandoned the base little was done to dispose of waste materials. The ACE believed that accumulating snowfall and frigid temperatures would preserve the base and the waste left along with it. Upon its abandonment only the reaction chamber of the nuclear generator was taken. 9,200 tons of physical waste (building infrastructure), 200,000 liters of diesel fuel, 24,000,000 liters of biological waste, and 1,200,000,000 Bq (unit of radioactivity) of radioactive material were left at Camp Century. Aside from diesel fuel that was stored in rigid containers, which have most likely been compromised, liquid waste was stored in unlined sumps. Experts believe that the continued degradation of ice sheets will create conditions where this liquid waste will be able to permeate deeper into the ice, possibly into aquifers within the ice sheet, and even the sea.
Saving Incentives For Low and Middle-Income Families: Evidence From a Field Experiment With H&R Block
Esther Duflo, William Gale, Jeffery Liebman, Peter Orzag, Emmanuel Saez
November 2006
Low and middle income families in the US tend to set aside far too little for retirement, or other savings. Traditional tax breaks for savings have done little to entice these families to set more aside. Many have hypothesized that matching contributions wither in the form of tax credits, or by employers, could induce low income families to save more. However, the saver’s credit, enacted in 2001, has been less successful in doing so than was originally hoped. The researchers worked with HR block to randomize a matching rate across low income tax filers. The effects showed that match rates had a significant effect. At the rate of a 10% match only 3 percent of filers started an IRA savings program, but at a 50% match 14% of filers did so. The effect of these matches was almost 5 times larger than that of the Saver’s Credit, even though the financial benefits would be the same.
Comparison Friction: Experimental Evidence From Medicare Drug Plans
Jeffrey R. Kling, Sendhil Mullainathan, Eldar Shafir, Lee C. Vermeulan , Marian V. Wrobe
January 2012
Consumers of health care services and medicine are best able to save money when information about their alternatives is readily available to them. However, tracking down the information, even when it is readily available, can be overwhelming. The researchers mailed a randomized sample of Medicare D recipients a letter detailing personalized plan and cost information. All of the information in the letter was widely advertised and readily available for free. But, the simple additional step of sending the letter resulted in an 11% increase in plan switching for the sample group as opposed to the control group. This in turn led to an average decline in cost of about 100 dollars per year for the recipients of the letter.