Date of Submission

Spring 2017

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Economics

Project Advisor 1

Randall Wray

Abstract/Artist's Statement

This year, the newly elected leader of the free world termed healthcare “an unbelievably complex subject”.[1] I seek to make some sense of the topic by examining the primary ways in which the Affordable Care Act has changed the American healthcare system, with a focus on Medicaid expansions. Attention is given to ensuing issues, especially the creation of the Medicaid Gap. I then conduct a cost benefit analysis of expanding Medicaid in Mississippi to levels proposed by the ACA from the perspective of the Mississippi State government. Here, I estimate the cost-per-life-saved if Mississippi were to expand Medicaid, and compare these figures to value of statistical life measures commonly used to evaluate government policy. According to my findings, expanding Medicaid is financially feasible for Mississippi’s State government, and will have wide ranging positive impacts on the State’s economy and public wellbeing.

[1] Trump: health care is 'unbelievably complex' CNN. Feb 27, 2017.

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