Effects of Healthcare Quality on Labor Productivity: An Empirical Analysis Employing Panel Data

This paper examines whether the Affordable Care Act’s restructuring of Medicare Advantage affected labor productivity in the United States. Using a state-level panel from 2007 to 2024, it estimates a difference-in-differences model that interacts with each state’s 2010 Medicare Advantage share with a post-reform indicator. Across baseline, controlled, and trendadjusted specifications, as well as event-study and robustness checks, the results show no statistically robust effect on state-level labor productivity. Any productivity spillovers from Medicare Advantage reform are too small, diffuse, or delayed to be detected in aggregate statelevel data.