Neighborhoods And Health, Medicaid, And More

Insights Results

Overview of article

• This issue of Health Affairs contains a collection of papers reflecting how neighborhood characteristics affect health and how local efforts can respond to healthcare challenges

Results

• Many studies evaluating the effect of housing on healthcare have shown its effects on medical and social needs. For example, a study conducted by Kacie Dragan and coauthors found that gentrification had no effects on hospitalization or obesity, but did correlate to an increase in anxiety and depression. In addition, the Cincinnati Children’s hospital Medical Center’s initiative to reduce number of children hospitalized in targeted neighborhoods reported a ~20% decline in hospitalization by addressing children’s medical and social needs. Lastly, an evaluation on the effects of the Leveraging the large Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program, an experimental design developed by US Housing and Urban Development, did not find strong evidence to support a strong association between the receipt of a housing voucher or exposure to low-poverty neighborhoods with a reduction in long-term emergency department use
• In an analysis of Medicaid waivers, one study found that more than 80% of waivers cover respite care, and ~50% cover case management or care coordination
• One study found that 1/4 of new nonelderly adult Medicaid enrollees reported a decline in physical or mental health or loss of job in the period prior to their enrollment