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Sarah Hamersma


"The effect of public health insurance expansions on the mental and behavioral health of girls and boys," co-authored by Associate Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs Sarah Hamersma, was published in Social Science & Medicine. The authors leverage major expansions in public health insurance eligibility for children and adolescents under Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program during 1997–2002 to examine mental health care utilization and outcomes for children in the National Survey of America's Families. They found the expansions are associated with an estimated 30 percent reduction in mental health care utilization for girls, but no measurable effect for boys, which may partly be accounted for by increased well-child visits for girls. 06/29/21