JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. University of Wisconsin Press andThe Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Human Resources. ABSTRACTData from the Survey of Income and Program Participation are used to investigate ways in which health influences a single mother's decision whether to work: the direct effect of a woman's health on work effort and potential wage; the impact of her children's health on hours available to work; and the impact of health on the values of health insurance and Medicaid associated with work and AFDC participation, respectively. Simulations suggest that wage subsidies and decreases in AFDC benefits are unlikely to increase the labor force participation of single mothers in poor health or with disabled children, as they face limitations on work hours and the kinds of work they can perform that prohibit them from earning enough to stay out of poverty. Extending health insurance coverage to all children of single mothers regardless of AFDC status would induce a large percentage of these mothers to seek and accept employment, as would a pay-or-play insurance plan covering all workers (and their dependents) who work 15 or more hours a week. Barbara L. Wolfe is professor of economics and preventive medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Steven C. Hill is a graduate student in economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This paper assesses the quality of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) drug data and the impact that misreporting prescription drug data has on descriptive and behavioral analyses. It does this by matching MEPS participants with Medicare Part D coverage during the period 2006-2007 to their Part D claims data. In the validation sample, the number of drug fills and total expenditures are reasonably accurate compared with claims. Household respondents tended to underreport the number of different drugs taken, but tended to overreport the number of fills of each drug. Behavioral analyses of the determinants of medication use and expenditures were largely unaffected because underreporting cut across most sociodemographic groups.

Under the ACA, many of the uninsured and a larger proportion of survivors facing financial hardship will be eligible for Medicaid or premium tax credits in the Marketplaces. ACA implementation will dramatically enhance insurance availability and is likely to reduce financial hardship for vulnerable cancer survivors.