Researchers from West Virginia University Detail Findings in Managed Care (Under the Same Umbrella: Public Health Insurance Expansions and the Uniformity of Insurance for Families): Managed Care

2026 JUN 01 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Fresh data on Managed Care are presented in a new report. According to news reporting from Morgantown, West Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Evaluating insurance coverage at the individual level abstracts away from the family-level decision-making behind healthcare utilization. While traditional private insurance tends to be offered to either adult individuals or whole families, public insurance eligibility historically has been determined person-by-person.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from West Virginia University, “Income eligibility thresholds for public coverage can differ for parents and children, even among children in different age groups. Having different insurance sources or a mix of insured and uninsured family members may disrupt consistent medical care. In this paper, we examine the relationship between changes in eligibility thresholds for adults and children and the resulting mismatched insurance coverage patterns. Using the Current Population Survey, we document patterns of insurance mismatch over time, showing that despite some recovery following Medicaid expansion, the uniformity of insurance coverage has declined by nearly 10 percentage points in the past 30 years for families below 400% of the poverty line. We find that expansions of parental Medicaid income thresholds can promote uniform insurance coverage for families, whereas child expansions of Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program have a negligible effect on uniformity. Parental results are driven by families led by single mothers, who are more likely to be affected by Medicaid expansions for parents.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Treating a family as the main observation unit provides important insights and details the potential unintended consequences of individual-level public insurance policy.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Under the Same Umbrella: Public Health Insurance Expansions and the Uniformity of Insurance for Families. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2026;246. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization can be contacted at: Elsevier, Radarweg 29, 1043 Nx Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-economic-behavior-and-organization/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Daniel Grossman, West Virginia University, John Chambers Sch Business & Econ, Econ, Morgantown, WV 26506, United States. Additional authors for this research include Sarah Hamersma and Sebastian Tello-Trillo.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2026.107546. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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