The uneven impact of Medicaid expansion on rural and urban Black, Latino/a, and White mortality

Abstract

Purpose

To determine the differential impact of Medicaid expansion on all-cause mortality between Black, Latino/a, and White populations in rural and urban areas, and assess how expansion impacted mortality disparities between these groups.

Methods

We employ a county-level time-varying heterogenous treatment effects difference-in-difference analysis of Medicaid expansion on all-cause age-adjusted mortality for those 64 years of age or younger from 2009 to 2019. For all counties within the 50 US States and the District of Columbia, we use restricted-access vital statistics data to estimate Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATET) for all combinations of racial and ethnic group (Black, Latino/a, White), rurality (rural, urban), and sex. We then assess aggregate ATET, as well as how the ATET changed as time from expansion increased.

Findings

Medicaid expansion led to a reduction in all-cause age-adjusted mortality for urban Black populations, but not rural Black populations. Urban White populations experienced mixed effects dependent on years after expansion. Latino/a populations saw no appreciable impact. While no effect was observed for rural Black and Latino/a populations, rural White all-cause age-adjusted mortality unexpectedly increased due to Medicaid expansion. These effects reduced rural- and urban-specific Black-White mortality disparities but did not shrink the rural-urban mortality gap.

Conclusions

The mortality-reducing impact of Medicaid expansion has been uneven across racial and ethnic groups and rural-urban status; suggesting that many populations—particularly rural individuals—are not seeing the same benefits as others. It is imperative that states work to ensure Medicaid expansion is being appropriately implemented in rural areas.