Panel:
Labor Market Policies and Health Care Disparities
(Poverty and Income Impacts)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
This panel explores the ways in which labor policies affect disparities in access to health services, access to quality services, and access to labor situations that allow for better access to health resources. The papers on the panel are motivated by the fact that affordability, as a key determinant of access to health services, varies across racial and demographic groups. Those without workplace access to health benefits must rely on their own income to cover health insurance and the cost of regular care. Determining the effects of access on the quantity and quality of care is complicated by the incidence of racial and ethnic disparities in the labor market. Public policies, like minimum wage increases, that govern wages and employment plausibly affect some minimum level of access to care, and may serve to reduce disparities in outcomes. The papers on this panel provide new insights from novel data sets to heighten the debate about interventions that might reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes. The papers address such questions as: How do labor market policies promote wealth effects to shape the demand for health services? What are the impacts of specific labor market interventions on the identity of those who supply of health services? Do these interventions improve health and reduce health disparities?
