Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study comprised an exploration of ways in which welfare reforms have affected utilization of four health services: visit to physician, hospital care, prescription medication, and visit to dentist. In addition, it examined the impact of health insurance on use of the four. The study is a secondary data analysis of a nationally representative sample of non-elderly, able-bodied adults. This sample of 15,715 individuals was extracted from a national data set. From the sample, a sub-sample of 920 former and current TANF recipients was also extracted and analyzed. The results show that significant impact on use of health services is exerted by variables of (a) welfare policy, (b) welfare receipt, (c) health insurance, (d) ethnicity, and (e) family income, when other variables are controlled.