Single Mothers The Omnibus Budget

introduced a refundable tax credit for low-income families who purchased health insurance coverage for their children. This health insurance tax credit (HITC) existed during tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993, and was then rescinded. Curiously, although many economists have espoused a refundable tax credit directed toward low-income families (Burman et al. 2007; Cogan, Hubbard, and Kessler 2005; Furman 2008; and Pauly 1999, among others), no one has estimated the effects of the HITC on health insurance coverage. This article summarizes the evidence we report in a recent study (Cebi and Woodbury 2009) in which we use Current Population Survey data and a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the effect of the 1991–1993 HITC on health insurance coverage of low-income single mothers. Access to health care for low-income women and their children is a concern that extends well beyond health policy. Indeed, for many TANF and Medicaid recipients, lack of affordable health insurance has been a key barrier to escaping welfare. The fi ndings of our study suggest that during 1991–1993, the health insurance coverage of single mothers was about 6 percentage points higher than it would have been in the absence of the HITC. These fi ndings hardly suggest that an HITC would be a panacea for low-income families ’ access to health care, but they do suggest that an HITC could be an effective component of a broader set of policies to expand access to health care