Title: “Navigating Medicaid: Experimental Evidence on Administrative Burden and Coverage Loss”
Abstract: Millions of people lose access to safety-net programs each year because they do not complete required administrative processes. In a field experiment, we tested whether outreach providing help increased successful renewal of Medicaid coverage. Pre-recorded calls offering free, one-on-one assistance from health insurance navigators increased successful Medicaid renewal by 1 percentage point by preventing procedural denials (coverage loss due to incomplete or missing paperwork). Effects were significant among tribal members, children, and people with chronic health conditions. This provides the first evidence from a randomized trial that administrative ordeals cause eligible people, including those needing care, to lose their coverage.
Bio: Rebecca Myerson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health. Her research examines the impacts of public policies and information interventions on take-up of insurance coverage, health care access, and health outcomes. Myerson holds a doctorate in public policy from the University of Chicago, a master in public health from the University of Washington, and a bachelor degree from Harvard. She is a Faculty Affiliate of the UW La Follette School of Public Affairs, Carbone Cancer Center, Institute for Research on Poverty, Center for Demography of Health and Aging, and Center for Demography and Ecology. Prior to coming to Wisconsin, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California. Myerson’s policy research has been honored with the ISPOR Award for Excellence in Application of Pharmacoeconomics and Health Outcomes Research, funded by a Fulbright scholarship and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and cited by the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC Nightly News, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
