Date of Award
Spring 5-2-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department
Economics
First Advisor
Monica Das
Abstract
This study investigates how the expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) impacts on expenditures and savings within the Older American Act (OAA) program. Using panel data from 2007 to 2023 and conducting a comparative study on New York (an expansionary state) and Texas (a non-expansionary state), this study estimates the effect of Medicaid expansion on federal OAA Title III grant allocations and life expectancy. Two linear regression models show that Medicaid expansion status is a statistically insignificant predictor of OAA expenditures. While ACA expansion contributes to greater short-term expenditures, it also holds the potential for long-term savings when expansion is paired with effective delivery of eldercare services at the state level. This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of federal health policies and identify potential structural shortcomings in the distribution and coordination of aging-related community or state services. Ultimately, the motivation for this research is quite simple but profoundly real: aging is a universal human experience. As a society, we share the collective responsibility to ensure that our elderly friends—parents, grandparents, and neighbors—can age with dignity, support, and care.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Wu, Xinyue, "Does the expansion of the Affordable Care Act result in greater savings or greater expenditures in the Older American Act program? A comparative study between Texas and New York" (2025). Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects. 182.
https://creativematter.skidmore.edu/econ_studt_schol/182