Self-Reported Health Status Improved For Racial And Ethnic Minority Groups After Michigan Medicaid Expansion

Su-En Lee, Melinda; Beathard, Erin; Kirch, Matthias; Solway, Erica; Lewallen, Maryn; Tipirneni, Renu; Patel, Minal; Rowe, Zachary; Goold, Susan D

Addressing health inequities for racial and ethnic minority populations is challenging. After passage of the Affordable Care Act, Michigan launched its Healthy Michigan Plan, which expanded Medicaid eligibility in the state. Our evaluation of the expansion provided the opportunity to study its impact on racial and ethnic minority groups, including Arab American and Chaldean American enrollees, an understudied population. Using data from telephone surveys collected in 2016, 2017, and 2018, we conducted an analysis to study the plan's impact on access to a regular source of care and health status among racial and ethnic minority groups. More than 90 percent of respondents of all racial and ethnic groups reported having a regular source of care after plan enrollment compared with 74.4 percent before enrollment. Respondents who identified as non-Hispanic White, African American, and Hispanic reported improvements in health status after plan enrollment. Our study demonstrates the potential of health insurance access to narrow health inequities between racial and ethnic groups.