Dive Brief:
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A new study in Health Affairs found that receiving U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing assistance is associated with higher insurance rates.
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To see if receiving HUD assistance is associated with improved access to healthcare, the study authors analyzed data on non-disabled adults between the ages of 18 and 64, who responded to the 2004-2012 National Health Interview Survey. They found that nearly 32% of current public housing recipients were uninsured compared to 37.2% of people who would be in public housing within 24 months.
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“These findings provide evidence that supports the effectiveness of housing assistance in improving healthcare access,” the authors concluded.
Dive Insight:
Health disparities remain a problem despite more Americans having health insurance than a decade ago.
Race and socioeconomic conditions can play a role in a person’s health, but studies show housing issues can also play a part. Poor housing stability is associated with adverse health outcomes, such as increased rates of infectious and chronic disease, injuries, poor mental health and poor nutrition.
People who live in public housing often have poor health, according to the researchers. The study authors said people in public housing often have higher levels of smoking, hypertension and poor health status in general compared to “similarly poor people not in public housing assistance.”
They point to many reasons, including neighborhood effects, environmental factors, crowding and social networks that “increase financial and emotional stress and provide few employment or educational opportunities.”
Despite previous studies that connect public housing with poor health, this new report found that public housing can actually help healthcare access. Study authors suggested some possible reasons: those with stable housing can focus on their healthcare rather than worry about housing, having housing assistance allows people to have more financial resources to spend on healthcare, public housing outreach programs inform residents about public services and subsidized housing may be located near social services, such as public health clinics.
People who receive housing through HUD are usually the most vulnerable. The only thing keeping a roof over their heads is public housing. However, President Donald Trump's budget proposal suggests cutting HUD by about 15% next year, which could lead to cutting more than 250,000 rental vouchers for the poor.
These cuts go beyond housing, as the study published in Health Affairs shows. Losing housing could also lead to losing health insurance, poorer health outcomes and not being able to afford healthcare. For hospitals, these cuts could lead to more uncompensated care and sicker patients.