A recent study from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found adverse health events increase housing instability and the risk of entering homelessness for people on Medicaid.
Medicaid enrollees who have gone through a sudden health crisis see a 40% to 56% increase in housing instability and are 6% to 10% more likely to enter homelessness. The study, conducted by Kacie Dragan, an assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at the Columbia Mailman School, looked at high-frequency health and residential data from New York City Medicaid enrollees between 2010 and 2019. Dragan took all medical enrollees who experienced a sudden hospitalization between 2012 and 2017 and compared them to a matched group without a sudden hospitalization.
“Much of the existing research has focused on narrow definitions of homelessness — like shelter use — or only on formal evictions. Our paper looks at a range of housing instability outcomes following major health events,” Dragan said in a press release. “It offers evidence for how health systems might use their existing capabilities to support patients at risk of instability — either by preventing disruptive health events in the first place or facilitating rapid support services during health crises to interrupt the long tail of social consequences that can follow.”
The study shows how health systems need to address more than just a person’s medical issues, and how a medical crisis can snowball into other crises, Dragan argues. Programs that provide help to apply for paid leave, subsidized housing, and emergency rental assistance can be key interventions to prevent 20,000 additional cases of homelessness among the U.S. Medicaid-insured population annually, according to the study. About 257,000 residents, or 38% of the District’s population, rely on Medicaid, according to Kaiser Family Foundation. Most of these residents live in Wards 7 and 8, majority-Black wards where 46% and 52% of residents, respectively, rely on the program.
“People experiencing serious illness are uniquely vulnerable to housing instability and residential displacement, suggesting that efforts to improve healthcare access and quality may also serve as important housing stabilization strategies,” Dragan said.
This article originally appeared in Street Sense’s July 1, 2026 edition.
