Health insurance coverage linked to crime rates, study suggests

Losing Medicaid could have indirect societal costs
A large Medicaid disenrollment led to higher crime rates
The median county saw crime rise 16.6%

Updated: Apr 17, 2024 / 01:56 PM CDT

FILE – A sign points visitors toward the financial services department at a hospital, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014. More than a half million of the poorest Americans would be left without health insurance under legislation passed by House Republicans that would require people to work in exchange for health care coverage through Medicaid. The bill is unlikely to become law, though, with Democrats strongly opposing the idea. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

(NewsNation) — Access to health insurance may reduce crime in the United States, four scholars suggest in a recently published working paper.

The study’s authors looked at one of the largest Medicaid disenrollments in U.S. history, which took place in 2005 in Tennessee. About 190,000 nonelderly and nondisabled adults with no dependents lost coverage at the time.

Researchers found losing Medicaid coverage may have indirect societal costs.

Policing data, in particular, showed mass insurance loss drove crime rates, according to the study.

The median county saw crime rise 16.6%, with a 20.6% and 14.1% increase in violent and nonviolent crime, respectively.

“Crime imposes costs on government budgets, crime victims, and society more generally,” researchers wrote. “Going against historical trends, recent policies − in place and proposed − will likely lead to many Americans losing Medicaid and other insurance. … Our findings suggest that these policies may have unexpected and negative consequences for communities across the country.”