Student Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
Spring 5-26-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA)
Program of Study
Business Administration
Language
English
First Advisor
Alex Mills
Second Advisor
Cynthia Thompson
Abstract
Research shows that many non-medical factors, called social determinants of health, impact health outcomes. These social determinants include both socioeconomic factors, such as income and education, and public policies, such as laws and regulations affecting access to healthcare. This study proposes that citizenship status is also a social determinant of health and supports this proposition by examining the impact of citizenship status on healthcare access and utilization in New York. The study data consist of enrollments, disenrollments, and paid medical expenses incurred by patients enrolled in Medicaid or the Essential plan, both of which are government-sponsored health plans. In addition to studying differences between citizens and non-citizens, the study leverages a 2019 policy change in U.S. immigration regulations, known as the Public Charge rule, as a natural experiment. The change in the Public Charge rule explicitly tied the use of public health benefits to non-citizen recipients’ ability to remain in the United States. Compared with U.S. citizens, non-citizens were more likely to disenroll from healthcare coverage after the implementation of the rule change. Among those who remained enrolled, there was little difference in plan utilization between citizens and non-citizens. The change in policy linking immigration to healthcare appears to have created a new barrier for non-citizens to access healthcare service
Recommended Citation
Pierre, Errol, "Citizenship as a Social Determinant of Health: Healthcare Access and Utilization in the Wake of the Public Charge Policy Change" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/bb_etds/130
