Quote from Gruber. (ivory tower)
Prof Gruber
“You know, it is so rare that we have a bold idea we can run the experiment on, right? We actually ran the experiment on a theoretical concept. We ivory-tower types come up with concepts like this all the time. Here’s one we came up with that we tested, and it worked...”
Mr. Gruber, it FAILED.
This guy, Gruber, was involved in a study in Oregon which “lottery” Medicaid benefits which resulted in an increase in mental health.
The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment is a landmark, randomized study of the effect of expanding public health insurance on the health care use, health outcomes, financial strain, and well-being of low-income adults. It represents the first use of a randomized controlled design to evaluate the impact of Medicaid in the United States. Although randomized controlled trials are the gold standard in medical and scientific studies, they are rarely possible in social policy research. In 2008, the state of Oregon drew names by lottery for its Medicaid program for low-income, uninsured adults, generating just such a randomized controlled design. This ongoing study represents a collaborative effort between researchers and the state of Oregon to use this opportunity to learn about the costs and benefits of this expansion of public health insurance.
http://www.nber.org/oregon/
Critique of the study below (link)
http://www.acton.org/pub/commentary/2014/01/15/oregon-medicaid-study-doesn%E2%80%99t-love-big-brother