Investigador: Pablo Celhay (con Sebastian Martínez, Matías Muñoz, Michelle Perez y Ricardo Perez-Cuevas).

We assess the long run effects of The Health Insurance for the Twenty First Century (SMSXXI) Program, part of Mexico’s Seguro Popular, that provides public health insurance for uninsured children under 5 years old. We show that the program led to reductions in out of pocket health expenditures by 13%, primarily from expenses incurred on hospitalizations. Infant mortality by causes covered by the program were reduced by 5.3% and effects were largest in high baseline mortality areas. Long run health effects, approximately 8 years after the start of the program are reflected in a 0.44 cm average increase in height for birth cohorts exposed to the program, and anthropometric effects are almost 1cm on average for low-income populations. While no effects were detected on health service utilization, results suggest improvements in the quality of health care and specialized personnel are likely channels to explain final outcomes.