Full Citation

Title: Health Insurance in America as It Relates to the Opioid Crisis

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2018

ISBN: 9780355892567

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Abstract: In 2016, the American opioid crises reached a new apex. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 63,632 people died due to drug overdoses—more than two-thirds of which were caused by opioids. While it is difficult to pinpoint an exact starting point of the crisis, it is safe to assume that prescribing patterns by the medical community is one of the primary culprits. With this thesis, I examined whether the United States' insurance rate affected opioid overdose death rates from 2001 to 2015. I also studied if the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion either helped or exacerbated the epidemic. Prior to starting my research, I hypothesized that a higher insurance rate would correlate to lower opioid overdose death rates. I also believed Medicaid expansion would help to combat the crisis. In my results, I found that if insurance rates increased by one percent, opioid overdose death rates decreased by approximately 1.2 to 1.8 percentage points. My Medicaid expansion variable was insignificant.

Url: https://search.proquest.com/docview/2039079661?pq-origsite=gscholar

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Berger, Jason, M

Institution: Georgetown University

Department: Public Policy & Policy Management

Advisor: Wise, Andrew S.

Degree: Master of Public Policy

Publisher Location: District of Colombia, US

Pages: 55

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Fertility and Mortality, Health, Other, Population Health and Health Systems

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