Do Housing Vouchers Change Medicaid Enrollment and Healthcare Use? Results from a Natural Experiment

• In Event: Exploring the lifecycle of housing assistance’s economic and health impacts, from application to long-term follow-up

Abstract

Housing insecurity is a national crisis with 22.4 million renter households living in unaffordable homes and rates of family homelessness reaching record levels in 2024. While research has increasingly documented the health impact of housing insecurity on children’s health, there exists little causal evidence on the impact of programs designed to bolster housing security for children’s health care access and use. Rental assistance in the form of housing vouchers is one such program that can impact insurance enrollment and health care use through greater financial security, increased housing stability, and decreased exposure to the environmental hazards found in low-quality housing. Using the natural experiment of randomized voucher distribution to households, we found that children whose families’ received housing vouchers had a higher likelihood of children enrolling in Medicaid with small differences in health care use compared to children on the waitlist. Housing voucher receipt may therefore have important spillover effects on health, particularly children’s insurance coverage by promoting enrollment through housing stability.

Author

• Rebecca Brooks Smith, Johns Hopkins University
  Presenting Author