Health Insurance Tax Credits and Health Insurance Coverage
of Low-Earning Single Mothers
Upjohn Institute Staff Working Paper 09-158
Merve Cebi
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
and
Stephen A. Woodbury
Michigan State University
W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
e-mail: woodbury@upjohninstitute.org
June 2009
Revised March 2010
JEL Classification Codes: H2; H51, I18, J32
Abstract
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 introduced a refundable tax credit for
low-income working families who purchased health insurance coverage for their
children. This health insurance tax credit (HITC) existed during tax years 1991, 1992,
and 1993, and was then rescinded. We use Current Population Survey data and a
difference-in-differences approach to estimate the HITC’s effect on private health
insurance coverage of low-earning single mothers. The findings suggest that during
1991–1993, the health insurance coverage of single mothers was about 6 percentage
points higher than it would have been in the absence of the HITC.
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