How Do Various Health Insurance Coverages Affect COVID-19-related Stay-at-Home-Tendencies of People Across US States?

Abstract

This study investigates the relations between COVID-19-related stay-at-home-tendencies and various health insurance coverages of people across US states. To this aim, the K-means clustering and panel regression analysis with cross-sectional dependence are applied. The main empirical finding reveals that various health insurance coverages have different level impacts on COVID-19-related stay-at-home-tendencies. People who are uninsured tend to stay at home the most as compared with people with private, Medicaid, Medicare and military health insurance coverages. As a result, it may be interpreted that uninsured people have serious concerns about affording healthcare costs associated with COVID-19 and, thereby, stay at home. However, people with private health insurance coverages tend to stay at home the least. This may also lead to the interpretation that people with private health insurance coverages feel safer and better protected against the rising risks of this pandemic outside their homes.