Medicaid, Health, and the Moderating Role of Neighborhood Characteristics

Neighborhood characteristics may moderate the effects of Medicaid coverage on health outcomes. Identifying this interplay can inform the design, targeting, and implementation of health policy. We combine data from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, which randomized access to Medicaid, with rich new data on multiple domains of neighborhood characteristics to assess the interaction between the local environment and the effect of insurance on health. Overall, we do not find that neighborhood characteristics substantially affect the relationship between gaining insurance and health outcomes, suggesting that Medicaid expansions are similarly effective across neighborhoods. This analysis highlights the complex relationship between health insurance coverage, neighborhood characteristics, and health.