Virginia Medicaid Expansion: New Members Report Reduced Financial Concerns During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Medicaid is a critical antipoverty program. Since the Affordable Care Act expanded Medicaid eligibility, millions of newly eligible people have enrolled, creating positive financial improvements for low-income families. We examined the association of Virginia's 2019 Medicaid expansion and changes in health care-related and non-health-care-related financial needs among newly eligible Medicaid enrollees. Our unique survey collected responses between December 2018 and April 2019 from newly enrolled members reporting on experiences in the year before enrollment and between July 2020 and May 2021 from members reporting on experiences one year after enrollment. The follow-up period coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. Medicaid enrollment was associated with decreases in concern about all financial needs assessed: housing, food, monthly bills, credit card and loan payments, and health care costs. These reductions were broadly similar across demographic subgroups and across the months of the pandemic that overlapped with the follow-up period. We add to the evidence that Medicaid expansion is a social safety-net policy that could improve equity among low-income families, potentially encouraging states that have yet to expand to do so.