The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver School of Economics
  • Undergraduate
    • Programs
    • Courses
      • Course Descriptions
      • Course Listings
    • Student Advising
    • Student Clubs
  • Graduate
    • MA Program
    • Ph.D. Program
    • Graduate Courses
    • Current Students
      • Current Offerings
      • All Graduate Courses
    • Graduate Resources
  • People
    • Faculty
    • Emeritus Faculty
    • Visiting Faculty
    • Faculty Affiliates
    • Staff
    • PhD Job Market Candidates
    • PhD Students
    • Key Contacts
    • About the VSE
    • Work With Us
  • Research
    • Faculty Research Fields
    • Research Centres
    • FDZ-IAB Data Access Point
    • Experimental Lab (ELVSE)
    • Policy Discussions
    • Lima Summer School
  • News & Events
    • Newsletter
    • Events
    • Seminars
    • Woodward Lectures
  • Careers
    • BA Career Services
    • BIE Career Services
    • Co-Op Options
  • Alumni
    • Alumni FAQ
  • Giving
  • Internal
    • Meeting Rooms
    • COVID-19 Safety Plan
  • Apply Now
Home / News / 2017 / Q&A: Prof. Joshua Gottlieb on Medicaid
News
Newsletter
Submit Content
Events
Seminars
Woodward Lectures
VSE Events

Media Enquiries

Corey Allen
Manager, Communications, Media, and Web, Vancouver School of Economics
corey.allen@ubc.ca

Find News By Topic

Alumni
Awards
Events
Faculty
Programs
Research
Students

News Articles By Year

2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

Q&A: Prof. Joshua Gottlieb on Medicaid

July 6, 2017 | Tagged: Joshua Gottlieb, Medicaid

Photo: Images Money / Flickr

The United States Senate is embroiled in a debate over revamping healthcare, including potential cuts to Medicaid, a free or low-cost insurance program that covers millions of low-income and disabled people. To better understand what’s at stake, Joshua Gottlieb, an economist at the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia, talks about the role and value of Medicaid in this Q&A. 

What are the benefits of Medicaid? 

VSE Assistant Professor Joshua Gottlieb

Health care is expensive. And finding the money to pay for it is hardest when you need it most: when sick. Like any traditional insurance contract, Medicaid provides people with the resources they need when they’re most valuable. There is speculation that providing this care might improve health outcomes, but evidence on that benefit is weaker.

What are the potential downsides to Medicaid?  

Most of the financial benefits are captured by health care providers, not the patients who are the intended beneficiaries. Multiple studies find that beneficiaries value Medicaid at much less than its cost. It’s a very expensive program, so that’s a lot of money to spend in a way that the recipients don’t seem to prefer.

What would happen if Medicaid is cut? 

Providers that have been relying on it would likely change how they practice, where they locate, or which patients they target. We could see an increase in unpaid medical debt and perhaps bankruptcies.

Gottlieb and Mark Shepard from Harvard Kennedy School discuss Medicaid research further in an Econofact memo here.

Vancouver School of Economics
Faculty of Arts
6000 Iona Drive
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1L4
Tel 604 822 2876
Fax 604 822 5915
Find us on
    
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility