Health Affairs | "Coverage among lawfully present immigrants increased briefly after Medicaid threshold met in Florida, Georgia, and Texas"
Health Affairs published research on Medicaid, co-authored by Dr. Arturo Vargas Bustamante, with the Department of Health Policy and Management.
The journal Health Affairs published research co-authored by Dr. Arturo Vargas Bustamante, professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, that found a 5-year wait period for Medicaid only provides a brief, temporary bump in health coverage before rates dropped sharply again.
"Meeting the five-year threshold was associated with an 11.8-percentage-point increase in overall coverage and an 8.2-percentage-point increase in Medicaid coverage. Still, these gains were short-lived, with coverage declining sharply in later years and lawfully present immigrants mainly remaining uninsured. No significant changes were found for employer-sponsored or private insurance coverage. The findings suggest that even under existing rules, federal Medicaid provides only limited and temporary coverage gains, indicating that upcoming eligibility and reporting requirements may exacerbate coverage gaps."
