Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Social Issues / 05.06.2013
Welfare Reform, Welfare Time Limits and Mortality
MedicalResearch.com eInterview with:
Peter Muennig, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management
Columbia University School of Public Health
NY City, NY
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: We find that one of the welfare time limit experiments that led to welfare reform in the United States in 1996 led to increases in mortality rates among experimental group participants over 14-15 years of follow up.
MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected?
Answer: Yes. Welfare reform led to increases in employment among the experimental group participants. Employment has long been hypothesized to reduce mortality. We examined this experiment to explore whether increases in employment among those exposed to time limits on welfare reduced mortality. We found instead they increased mortality.
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