Targeted Burdens?: How Support for Administrative Burdens in Medicaid Differs Across Target Populations

Area of Science:

• Health policy research
• Public opinion analysis
• Social science

Background:

• Policymakers frame public benefits, including administrative burdens, using 'deserving' and 'undeserving' categories to gain support.
• Understanding public perception of these burdens is crucial for effective policy design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether public attitudes toward administrative burdens are influenced by the specific target populations of public benefits.
• To examine how different groups perceive administrative burdens within the Medicaid program.

Main Methods:

• A pre-registered survey (N=4,157) was conducted.
• A survey experiment primed respondents with various Medicaid target populations.
• Respondents were queried on their views regarding six distinct administrative burdens.

Main Results:

• Overall, limited shifts in public attitudes were observed across different target populations.
• Respondents showed a greater willingness to impose burdens on immigrants compared to pregnant women and children with disabilities.
• Public opinion varied significantly across different administrative burdens, with low support for increased recertification and in-person interviews.

Conclusions:

• Public attitudes towards administrative burdens in Medicaid are not uniformly affected by target populations.
• Specific groups, such as immigrants, may face disproportionately higher proposed burdens.
• Findings contribute to the discourse on the structure and public perception of the Medicaid program.