Funded research

Tara Watson, University of Michigan, Williams College and NBER
Dean Yang, University of Michigan

Barriers to Medicaid Participation Among Immigrants

A large fraction of the uninsured are in fact eligible for Medicaid, and Medicaid take-up rates are particularly low among immigrants.  This study aims to identify the impact of lack of information, enrollment complexity, citizenship status, and other barriers to Medicaid coverage and health utilization among immigrants.  The first phase of the project includes a pilot survey of approximately 200 Dearborn and Detroit area immigrants who have been legal permanent residents for about five years.  Because the respondents are soon-to-be or newly eligible for Medicaid coverage, it is an ideal time to assess the perceived barriers to Medicaid participation in local immigrant communities. We eventually intend to conduct randomized experiments to evaluate the barriers to Medicaid participation among newly eligible immigrants.  Interventions will include providing information about Medicaid, facilitating enrollment in Medicaid, or facilitating citizenship; the exact nature of the interventions will be informed by the results of the pilot survey.    Key outcomes of interest are participation in Medicaid, health services utilization, and health status. 

 

 

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