New Insurance Findings from University of California Described (The impact of Medicaid expansion on coverage among those lacking housing basics, 2010-2019): Insurance

2026 JUN 19 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at NewsRx Policy and Law Daily -- A new study on Insurance is now available. According to news reporting out of Los Angeles, California, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Housing is a critical social determinant of health, and individuals living in substandard housing often face greater healthcare needs and financial burdens. Expanding health insurance is therefore especially important for this population.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of California, “However, little is known about whether the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion affected disparities in coverage by housing quality. We examined whether Medicaid expansion improved insurance coverage equitably among low-income individuals living in homes with and without basic housing necessities. Using nationally representative survey data from 2010-2019, we compared changes in insurance coverage before and after expansion in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility vs those that did not. Medicaid expansion increased Medicaid coverage by more than 12% points and reduced uninsurance by 6%-7% points relative to non-expansion states among individuals lacking at least one basic housing necessity. However, compared with individuals with complete housing necessities, those lacking at least one basic housing necessity experienced slightly smaller increases in Medicaid coverage and smaller reductions in uninsurance. Medicaid expansion improved coverage among individuals facing housing-related disadvantage but did not eliminate disparities.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Eligibility-based expansions can extend coverage to structurally disadvantaged populations, but additional efforts to address non-financial barriers may be needed.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: The impact of Medicaid expansion on coverage among those lacking housing basics, 2010-2019. Health Affairs Scholar, 2026;4(6).

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Deborah Freund, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States. Additional authors for this research include Chengcheng Zhang, Gerald F. Kominski and Petra W. Rasmussen.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxag115. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)