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Title: Recessions and Seniors Health, Health Behaviors, and Healthcare Use: Analysis of the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2012

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Abstract: A number of studies report that U.S. state mortality rates, particularly for the elderly, decline during economic downturns. However, existing microdata evidence of how business cycle changes affect individual health and health behaviors is based largely on working-aged adults. We examine the relationship between unemployment and health in the age 65 and older population using the 1994-2008 Medicare Current Beneficiary Surveys. Overall, we find thatseniors report worse health and use more inpatient care when unemployment rates rise. These findings differ from most studies of the general adult population which often report that recessions improve physical health, reduce unhealthy behaviors, and if anything, reduce medical care use. This pattern either suggests that the elderly respond differently to recessions or that the relationship between unemployment and health has changed over time. Regarding the latter, we find new evidence that elderly mortality is countercyclical during most of the 1994 to 2008 period.

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Authors: McInerney, Melissa; Mellor, Jennifer M.

Publisher: College of William and Mary

Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Aging and Retirement, Health, Other

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