2006 University of Michigan Poverty Research Grants
Funded research
Mireille Jacobson, University of California, Irvine, University of Michigan; Thomas C. Buchmueller, Professor, University of California, Irvine
The Impact of Outreach Efforts on Medicaid Take-Up in California
Abstract
The Medicaid expansions of the 1980s and early 1990s led to a dramatic increase in public insurance eligibility. Because of low take-up, however, millions of poor children remain uninsured despite these expansions. Devising strategies to increase take-up is essential for reducing the number of uninsured children. We study an innovative outreach effort in California, which trains and certifies people in the community to help fill out Medicaid and SCHIP applications and, for a period of several years, paid a $50 fee for each application deemed eligible. Using administrative data, we provide a detailed description of the organizations that provide application assistance. We characterize differences in the segments of the population served by these organizations as well as the extent to which different types of organizations turn submitted applications into eligible enrollments. We also use survey data to corroborate evidence of the impact of this outreach effort on changes in the Medi-Cal coverage of children, the primary target of these efforts. Preliminary analysis suggests that insurance brokers, a group not typically recruited for outreach efforts, have contributed significantly to California’s effort. Moreover, this success has been achieved through contact with a notoriously hard to reach population, those on the higher end of the income eligibility thresholds.
