Health insurance and financial strain

A primary goal of health insurance is to protect against unexpected health care costs, reducing the financial strain associated with a new diagnosis or serious accident. Despite this, the relationship between health insurance and financial strain has not been well-documented. In this project we examine the impact of the Medicare program on financial strain for the elderly using a regression discontinuity design that exploits the change in Medicare eligibility at age 65. Research assistance is sought to analyze the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX) in Stata (or, if necessary, R/Python/SAS) to generate tables and figures, and carry out analyses under Dr. Wallace’s guidance, along with other tasks that might come up related to this project. This project is joint work with an economist at the New York Federal Reserve Board and so is an opportunity for students to get exposure to different career paths for PhDs in economics and related fields.