Housing in Medicaid: Should It Really Change?
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Abstract
Housing is mostly exempted from Medicaid and Supplemental Social Insurance means tests. Reforms of this special treatment have been debated, but little is known about its costs, benefits, and redistributive implications. I estimate a life cycle model of single retirees accounting for this exemption. It shows that the homestead exemption explains important patterns of Medicaid recipiency and that it is highly valued. It also shows that estate recovery could cover most of its costs with possibly limited negative welfare consequences. Finally, the model predicts that removing the homestead exemption or enforcing estate recovery programs would reduce redistribution toward lower-income retirees.Citation
Achou, Bertrand. 2023. "Housing in Medicaid: Should It Really Change?" American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 15 (1): 1-36. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200178Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D15 Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
- G51 Household Finance: Household Saving, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
- H51 National Government Expenditures and Health
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J26 Retirement; Retirement Policies
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