TennCare Disenrollment Led To Increased Eviction Filings And Evictions In Tennessee Relative To Other Southern States.

Abstract

Previous research suggests that enrolling in Medicaid reduces evictions by improving health and providing financial protection. However, previous studies have not examined whether the loss of Medicaid affects eviction outcomes. We analyzed eviction filings and completed evictions after a large, mandatory Medicaid disenrollment in Tennessee in 2005. We conducted a difference-in-differences analysis using data from the Eviction Lab at Princeton University and found that relative to other southern states, the TennCare disenrollment led to a 27.6 percent greater increase in the average annual number of eviction filings at the county level during the period 2005-09 and a 24.5 percent greater increase in the average annual number of completed evictions at the county level during that same period. Our findings have implications for the housing stability of Medicaid recipients today, many of whom are being disenrolled because of the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision that is occurring across the country. To protect housing stability for people disenrolled from Medicaid, policy makers may wish to consider new initiatives aimed at preventing an increase in eviction.